My Girl's ExBoyfriend
by AoiCherry
Summary: It's well known that no girl can resist the undeniably handsome looks of the infamous Sasuke Uchiha. That is, until Sakura Haruno comes along. With a protective barrier around her heart, built after the one guy she loved left her, she is the only one who is immune to Sasuke's looks. The reason: it just so happens that her ex-boyfriend looks a lot like the famed Sasuke Uchiha.
1. The New Girl

**I rewrote this first chapter because I thought it was too simple. I tried to make it more descriptive. I hope my writing's better now. The first chapter I posted wasn't that good. I hope the rewriting made it better.**

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****The New Girl**

Hidden Leaf High: a normal high school with normal students. A new girl with strange bubblegum pink hair and jade eyes has arrived. What are the chances of her meeting **his relative** there? Very unlikely? Not quite.

Students were loafing around, napping, chatting, in a huge, and noisy, classroom. They seem like they don't give a care in the world. Some girls were either gossiping, talking about homework, or just talking about their interest. Guys and girls exchanged looks, waved at each other, gave high fives, and more. More time passed, and there was still no sign of their homeroom teacher.

A young, hyperactive blond had his arms folded and was rocking his chair back and forth impatiently. Finally he stopped. "I'm getting sick of this! He comes in super late everyday, and I have to put up with **you**," at this point the blond pointed his finger at a teenager sitting beside him, "every single day!"

"Hn," replied the other boy. He pulled down the hat he was wearing so that his eyes were concealed. Obviously the blond annoyed him.

"Sasuke, can you try not to act cool for once?" asked the blond sarcastically.

"Just shut up, Naruto," retorted Sasuke. He put his legs up on his desk and continued to ignore his friend.

"What did you say, teme?" Naruto said threateningly.

"There they go again," commented a boy with brown, semi-spiky hair. His little white dog gave a small bark that seemed to say that it agrees with him.

"Why don't you just stop giving Sasuke-kun trouble, fox boy?" shouted a red-headed girl from the other side of the room.

"Why don't **you** stop chasing Sasuke around like there's no tomorrow?" Naruto hissed under his breath.

At that moment, the classroom door slid open, and in walked a silver haired man with a mask over the lower part of his face. He casually walked to the front of the class, reading a small orange book. Finally, he closed it, and spoke, "Hello everyone. Sorry I'm late. I was actually helping this new student get to her class."

"Are we supposed to believe you this time, because it actually sounds like a believable lie, Kakashi-sensei," commented Naruto. Sasuke smirked at Naruto's comment. Believe it or not, those two were actually really good friends, despite their small fights with each other.

"You should, Naruto, because it's true. Sakura Haruno, you can come in now," said Kakashi.

In walked the new girl. Her long, pink hair sashayed as she strolled into the room. Some of the boys were impressed at the new student, but other boys completely ignored her. She isn't really that pretty, but she had some good looking traits.

"Start us off by introducing yourself, Sakura," said Kakashi.

The teenage stepped forward and stated, "My name is Sakura Haruno. My hobbies are listening to music, reading for pleasure, spending time with my friends, but at the same time, having some time to myself. I like my i-pod, my computer, dango, ice-cream, and my loyal friends. I dislike people who are too self-centered, who hurts other people's feelings, or hurt them physically." The rosette scanned the room, looking at her new classmates, when she spotted the boy who had his hat down, covering his eyes, with his legs up on the table. Her eyes immediately widened; she kept staring at the young teen.

"Don't tell me we have another one," mumbled a male student. It wasn't strange for new girls to fall for the popular Sasuke. In fact, it has happened so many times that the students had become used to it. This is just a normal, new girl who transferred to another high school, right? Not really. Soon her staring turned to glaring, and she quickly took her eyes off him.

"Heh, looks like she doesn't like you very much, Sasuke," taunted Naruto. "She's different. I like her already. The first new girl to actually glare at you, teme! I have **got **to get to know her better."

"Stop bothering me, idiot. You're annoying," mumbled Sasuke, taking off his cap. Naruto just stuck out his tongue at him.

"Okay Sakura, let's find you an empty seat. Oh, there's one beside Naruto. He's the boy with spiky blond hair sitting beside the guy over there with black, spiky hair," led Kakashi. He pointed to the two boys. Naruto was waving at Sakura enthusiastically.

Sakura casually walked to her new seat. Along the way, she could hear everyone whispering. Many girls were jealous that she could sit closer to their Sasuke. The rosette looked like she didn't care about the whispers at all. She plopped down in her chair and put her bag on her desk. She faced Naruto and gave a smile. Naruto grinned back.

"Hi there! I'm Naruto Uzumaki! Nice to meet you Sakura-chan!" greeted Naruto, extending his hand.

"Nice to meet you too, Naruto," replied Sakura, shaking his hand. Naruto gave her a high five after the handshake.

_"He seems very nice. He has a very friendly personality. He must have a lot of close friends," _thought Sakura.

_**"I'm actually blinded by his friendliness,"**_ commented Sakura's inner personality: Inner Sakura.

"This guy here," Naruto dragged the teen by the shoulder and turned him around. "Is Sasuke Uchiha."

_"Uchiha, huh? No wonder he looks so similar. What are the chances that I would encounter **his** relative?" _Sakura thought. She glared at Sasuke non-stop. The Uchiha was getting more and more nervous. Naruto kept grinning; the blond was enjoying the show. 

"Sakura-chan? Do you hate teme that much? If you do, then I've got a new buddy to hang out with!" exclaimed Naruto, putting his arm around Sakura in a friendly way. Sakura stopped glaring and laughed along with Naruto. Suddenly, two pieces of chalk came flying towards Naruto and Sakura's foreheads.

"You two can get friendly later. Right now, listen to me," said a smiling Kakashi.

"Sheesh, Kakashi-sensei's sharp," whispered Naruto.

"Well, we were pretty loud," said Sakura.

"Dobe, will you and the new girl shut up? It's annoying," muttered Sasuke.

Naruto stuck out his tongue again and retorted, "Well, everything annoys you Sasuke. Are you emo or something? After all the years I've known you, I never expected you to be emo!"

"I'm not emo, you idiot!" hissed Sasuke.

"Just joking with you, teme," whispered Naruto. Sakura slightly giggled at Naruto's teasing personality.

_**"He seems really fun. I would avoid Sasuke Uchiha though,"**_ suggested Inner Sakura.

_"Yeah, I agree. He seems to have a lot of fangirls too. I may need to avoid contact with him. I can literally feel his fangirls' glares piercing through my back,"_ Sakura told her Inner, mentally.

Meanwhile, Sasuke was slightly intrigued by the new rosette. _"She's definitely an interesting one. At least there's a girl who's not willing to throw herself at my feet. I can't help but wonder why she hates me. I can't seem to remember meeting her or doing anything to anger her. Hn, only time will tell, I guess,"_ Sasuke thought.

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_**It's short, but revised. I hope you guys thought it was better than last time's. ^_^**

**~ Sakura Uchiha Hyuuga no Sabaku  
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	2. Sakura's Actions and Sasuke's Curiosity

**I'm kinda babbling in this chapter, cuz I'm not sure wht 2 write about, but I will reveal Sakura's ex soon! ;)**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Naruto.**

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"speaking"

"_thoughts"_

"_**Inner Self"**_

Sakura's actions and Sasuke's curiosity 

"Naruto, is Kakashi-sensei always like this? Leaving us to do work while he reads some perverted book?" asked/whispered Sakura.

"Basically, yeah. That's why almost everyone is bored to death in here. Look around," he replied.

Sakura scanned the room, and sure enough, some people were asleep with their heads on their desks, except the nerds of course.

_"Huh. Kakashi-sensei's one strange teacher," _Sakura thought.

"Naruto, why aren't you bored?" asked Sakura.

"I'm used to it. The others should be too, but me and Sasuke-teme are part of the very few people who don't fall asleep in this damn class," said Naruto.

"Huh. Ok, then we'd better finish this damn thing, huh," said Sakura, starting to scribble in her notebook.

_"What's with this girl? She's different from all the others. The blond bitch and the red headed slut come onto me every chance they have. But this, girl, is interesting. She even glared at me. No girl has ever done that to me. I'm going to find out more about you, Sakura Haruno," _thought Sasuke.

After Kakashi's class

"Sakura-chan! What's your next class?" asked Naruto.

"I have P.E next. What about you?"

"Me too! So does Sasuke-teme."

"Don't call me a teme, dobe," said Sasuke coming up to them.

"What did you call me teme?!"

"Hn, annoying dobe."

"Don't call Naruto a dobe Sasuke-teme!" Sakura shouted, defending Naruto.

_"What? She's defending Naruto? She really is interesting," _thought Sasuke.

"Heh, thanks Sakura-chan," said Naruto.

"HEY! DON'T CALL SASUKE-KUN A TEME!" shouted a red headed girl running up to them.

_"Oh shit! It's Karin!" _thought Sasuke.

"Hi Sasuke-kun!" said Karin clinging on to Sasuke's arm.

"Leave me alone you slut!" shouted Sasuke.

"Hm, Naruto, let's go onto P.E, and leave Sasuke alone with his girl," said Sakura, going to the gym.

"Ha ha! See ya teme!" said Naruto.

"Naruto you dobe!" shouted Sasuke, trying to get out of Karin's grasp. "I said get off me you bitch!"

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At P.E

"Ha ha! Sakura-chan that was a nice one! No girl has ever done that to Sasuke before!" said a laughing Naruto.

"Heh, thanks Naruto," said Sakura.

"All right, you maggots! I want you to do 15 laps around the gym in five minutes NOW!" shouted Anko, their P.E teacher. (AN: 15 laps around the gym is considered a bit much at my school in five minutes.)

After the laps

"Pant, Pant I'm gonna die young," said Naruto.

"Pant Isn't it a daily routine? I thought you would be used to it," said Sakura.

"Pant, Pant It is, but still, I'm gonna die young."

"Hey! Uchiha! Why are you late?!" bellowed Anko.

"Sorry, Anko. I had some trouble clinging onto me," said Sasuke.

"Alright, but you'll have to do an extra 5 laps, that makes 20, laps around the gym in five minutes! Now go!" shouted Anko.

Meanwhile, Sakura and Naruto were just chatting about some random stuff, and Sakura was enjoying making Sasuke's life miserable.

_"Sigh Why are we doing this again?" _

_**"Hello? Doesn't he remind you of someone who you don't want to be reminded about?" **_asked Inner Sakura.

_"Yeah, but maybe it isn't right to take out my anger on him while my anger is on that other guy."_

**_"True, but hell, aren't you enjoying this?"_**

_"Eh... I don't know. The REAL person I want to torture is that guy, not Sasuke."_

**_"Don't you think they might be related in some way? Last names 'Uchiha'?" _**(AN: I'm sure you can figure out the guy who's Sakura's ex by now. If you can't, then you really are an idiot. ;))

_"I don't even wanna think about it. That bastard left me for some other girl for God's sake!"_

"Sakura-chan? Sakura-chan?"

"Huh? What Naruto?"

"You spaced out for a while," the fox boy said.

"Oh, sorry about that. I was just thinking about something."

"Ok. Hey, here's Sasuke-teme."

Sakura let out a small growl, and shot Sasuke a glare.

"Naruto, I'm going somewhere else, ok?" said Sakura, suddenly standing up.

"Eh? Well, fine then Sakura-chan."

_"What's with that girl? Every time she sees me, she glares at me and walks away. I have to find out why she's against me," _thought Sasuke.

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**I'm sorry if this chapter's short, AGAIN! I had to think really hard about what details to put in here. Review and tell me what you think, or some suggestions of what to write next! Thanks!  
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	3. Just Make a Decision!

**I know, I know, it's been ages since I last updated this fic, but here's the new chapter! Thank you to the people who still reviewed this fic! Here's the next chappie, enjoy!**

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**Just Make a Decision!**

Day after day Sakura finds new ways to torture Sasuke, who unfortunately, has to bear with it. After about three weeks, however, Sakura got tired of her little game, and sat down alone at home to think if she was doing the right thing or not.

"_Hm, I wonder if he'll ever show his face again. If he does, I'll kick his butt straight to hell!" _ thought Sakura as she scribbled violently in her notebook.

"_**Hey, hey! Watch the pencil! The homework, the homework!"**_ shouted her Inner, causing Sakura to jerk her hand back. She let out a sigh as she erased the scribbles and doodles she had made.

"_It's just, Sasuke's taking everything I throw at him, and does nothing back. I feel kinda... guilty. He's not the person I should take things out on." _Sakura's Inner crossed her arms and closed her eyes, a sign that she was thinking.

"_**Doesn't torturing Sasuke seem fun to you? I mean, Sasuke has to be related to that bastard somehow, right?" **_Sakura said nothing when her Inner spoke. Instead, she kept on writing in her notebook, doing her homework. That was a sure sign that she didn't want to say anything, and that she was thinking.

After all her homework was done, Sakura got up to go to bed. In bed, she lay, thinking about what to do.

"_Since I've come here, I've made a lot of new friends. I wonder if being stuck in the past, not moving on, is affecting me. Well, technically it has. Hm, I'll just figure out what to do tomorrow."_Thinking that, Sakura turned off her bedside lamp, and went to sleep.

At school the next day

"Hey, Sakura-chan! Good morning!" greeted a hyper Naruto, smiling like crazy. Sakura smiled a little at him and greeted back.

"Naruto, have you seen Sasuke? I have to talk to him for a while before homeroom," asked Sakura. Naruto seemed confused, but then Sasuke came up to them.

Sakura went over to Sasuke when she spotted him, and dragged him off somewhere, away from Naruto and other people.

"H-Hey, Sakura, let me go!" yelled Sasuke, struggling to get out of Sakura's grasp. Unfortunately, he couldn't, since her grip was as strong as iron.

When she finally released him, she stared at him first before talking. "Sasuke, I know that these past weeks, I have been completely mean to you, but you didn't do anything back to me. Why?"

Sasuke just turned his head and answered, "Hn, because I didn't want to become tangled with another person's life. If you wanted to be friends with me, then go ahead. If you want to be my enemy, then I don't care."

Sakura put a hand to her chin and closed her eyes. After a second or two, she told Sasuke, "Okay, I see. Well, I kinda feel guilty about what I did to you during the past few weeks. Truthfully, I just did that to you because you look a lot like the person I kinda wanna kill, metaphorically of course."

"_**Pft, metaphorically? Yeah right,"**_ interrupted her Inner. Sakura kept on going though, ignoring her Inner.

"So, I guess what I'm trying to say is…" Sakura was interrupted by Sasuke before she could finish her sentence.

"So you want a truce? Be friends?" Sakura nodded her head slightly, and Sasuke just "hn"ed.

"Yes, and I apologize for what I've done to you. It's just that, you look a lot like the person I really hate right now, and I think you're kinda related to him." Sasuke's head jerked up when Sakura said this, and whipped around to face her.

"Wait, related? So, I should know this person," said Sasuke. He continued, "Sakura, judging from the clues you gave me, I'm down to one conclusion." He took a breath and continued speaking, "Is this guy my brother? Uchiha Ita…"

(Brrriiiinnnngggg!!!)

"I'll talk to you later Sasuke, but we have class right now, so come on!" urged Sakura, as she pulled his hand. The two of them ran towards their classroom, hoping to get there on time.

The duo dashed into the classroom and took their seats. Sure enough, they were on time, but not Kakashi.

"Why can't Kakashi-sensei come in on time for once?" Sakura asked Naruto. The blond boy just shrugged.

About fifteen minutes later, Kakashi came in, holding his book. And, as usual, the whole class shouted out, "You're late, again!"

And once more, Kakashi would mumble his excuse, "Ah, I'm sorry. I must've gotten lost on the road of…"

The students would then interrupt Kakashi by yelling, "Liar!"

"Fine, fine. Well, let's get started then." Kakashi started a lecture in the class, boring most of the students, but not the trio, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura.

"Hey, Naruto, don't you think it's strange? Usually Kakashi-sensei would leave us to do a lot of work, and he would stand by and read that perverted book of his. Now today, he's actually teaching!" whispered Sakura. Naruto just nodded and was about to answer back when two erasers hit them both on their heads.

"Naruto, Sakura, pay attention. Or do you two want to do some written assignments?" threatened Kakashi. Naruto and Sakura gulped and shook their head, apologizing. Kakashi went back to talking, and the duo listened to him drone on and on.

After Kakashi's class

"Come on, Naruto, let's go! If we're late, Anko-sensei's gonna eat us alive!" When Naruto was frantically slinging his bag over his shoulder, Sakura grabbed his wrist and ran as fast as she could to the gym, dragging Naruto along.

When they got there, Sasuke was already dressed in his P.E uniform, but he was trying to shake off his fangirls. Naruto laughed at the sight, and Sakura smiled. Both of them went to the locker rooms and changed for P.E, getting ready for hell.

"All right, all of you! Today, we're going to do something… fun," said Anko with a threatening stare at the students in the class, making them shiver.

"Now, I don't want any complaining or whining when I say… dodgeball," finished Anko. The people in the gym were about to whine, but shut their mouths quickly when Anko's stare caught them.

"Heh heh, good. Now, let's separate into teams, shall we?" declared Anko, and she began scribbling madly on her clipboard.

Sakura and Naruto could hear whispers from Sasuke's fangirls on another side of the gym.

"Oh my gosh, I hope I end up with Sasuke-kun!" whispered a random fangirl.

"Hell no, **I'm** going to be with Sasuke-kun!" countered another fangirl.

"Ha, are you kidding me? It's me who's going to be with Sasuke-kun," hissed another one of his fangirls.

"All of you are wrong! I'm going to be on the same team as him!" declared Karin, pointing a finger towards Sasuke, who saw that and shivered.

"Hmph, no way, Karin! Sasuke-kun's going to be with me!" said Ino, gesturing towards herself.

Suddenly, Anko boomed, "All of you girly-girls there better shut up, or you're going to have to run around the gym the whole period!" That made the fangirls shut up and tremble in fear.

"Alright, I've decided on the teams. Like normal dodgeball, there will be two teams. Now, these two people will be the team captains. Sasuke Uchiha!" announced Anko. Sasuke went over to one side of the gym, his fangirls screaming his name and begging Anko to let them be on his team. Sasuke just shot a disgusted look at them and muttered his trademark "hn".

"And Sakura Haruno!" finished Anko. Sakura's eyes widened, but she went over to the opposite side of the gym anyway.

"Now, these people are going to be on Uchiha's team. Go over to his side when I call your name. Karin Kimashi." Karin squealed before running over to Sasuke and hugging his arm. Sasuke shot a look at Naruto, begging him to get her off. Naruto just smiled and shrugged.

"Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, Choju Akimichi," Anko continued. The chosen people went over to Sauske's side, and Kiba helped Sasuke get Karin off him. Anko kept announcing people's names, and soon, the people left over went over to Sakura's side. (AN: I know the people I said are all boys, but Sasuke's fangirls are part of his team too!)

"Hey, Sakura-chan, we're on the same team!" said Naruto, stating the obvious. Sakura still smiled at him though. She looked over Naruto's shoulder to see Hinata Hyuuga, a new friend she had made, staring at him.

"Come on, Hinata! We're gonna start!" yelled Sakura, motioning the young Hyuuga to come to her side.

A pouting Ino slowly walked over to Sakura's team, and as she passed by, glared at the pinkette. Sakura didn't respond, but kept her eyes forward.

"Ready, set, go!" Anko then blew her whistle, and balls started flying everywhere. Sakura tried to focus on the game but her mind was set somewhere else.

"_When Sasuke and I were talking, he seemed to know whom I was referring to. So he's really Sasuke's brother, then,"_Sakura thought as she dodged the balls coming at her and threw some as well.

"_**Well, you never know. Sasuke might be talking about someone else. Someone who's name begins with 'Ita',"**_ suggested Sakura's Inner.

"_You have a point. But still, it sounded really…"_ Sakura didn't have time to finish the thought, since a voice broke through.

"Watch out, Sakura-san!" warned Hinata. Sakura snapped out of her thoughts as she saw a ball heading towards her. She didn't have time to counter the attack, but another person threw another ball towards the attacking ball, knocking it away from its path.

Sakura looked over to see who had done it, and saw a red headed boy, his arm extended. Sakura shivered a bit, but thanked him anyway. The red head just nodded and went back to the game.

"_Yeesh, Gaara can be mysterious at times."_ Sakura threw a ball with all her might towards Karin, which hit her square in the head, knocking her down.

"Kimashi's out of the game!" bellowed Anko, but the others never stopped throwing balls.

After a long game, the only people remaining were Sakura, Sasuke, Hinata, and Kiba. Sakura never stopped throwing and dodging, and so did Hinata. Sasuke and Kiba mimicked their moves.

Unfortunately, the four of them never got to finish their game, since gym period was over. Anko announced, "You actually did fair work today, maggots. I'll see you all on Friday."

"Ah, I thought I was gonna die out there," huffed a very exhausted Naruto. Sakura patted his back to comfort him.

"Well, at least we have that math test to look forward to next." Naruto's face fell at the mention of "math test", and was about to freak out when Sakura tugged on his ear, and dragged him off to the next class.

Lunch time

"Man, I think I failed that test. Today is definitely not my day," muttered a depressed Naruto as he walked with Sakura over to the table they usually sit.

"Come on, Naruto. At least you studied, right? You never know. Maybe you'll get a good grade, but you just think you fluked," said Sakura, trying to cheer Naruto up.

"Hey guys, how was the morning?" asked TenTen, a cheerful sophomore. She and Sakura became fast friends when Naruto introduced them. (AN: The rookie nine are freshmen, FYI.)

"Judging from the look on Naruto's face, I would say not good," answered Temari, a tough junior. Naruto just slumped down in his seat and set his tray down on the table.

"This is troublesome. Everyday seems to turn out bad for Naruto," commented Shikamaru, another freshman in Sakura's class.

"U-Um, cheer up N-Naruto-kun. I-I'm sure your day wasn't that b-bad," stammered Hinata. Naruto just groaned as he ate his food.

"Naruto seems to have very bad luck throughout his life, Hinata-san," said Neji, a sophomore, and also happens to be TenTen's boyfriend.

"Ha ha, true," continued Sakura. Naruto just kept on eating his food in silence.

"What happened that made the hyperactive Naruto like this?" asked Temari, gesturing towards Naruto, who was sulking now.

"Well, he thinks that he had failed his math test," answered Sakura.

Temari just shrugged and continued, "So? It's nothing special. Besides, he never seemed this down before after a test."

Sakura scratched her head with one finger and said, "Well, it's like this. Naruto's parents threatened him that if he didn't get a good grade on the next text, he would be grounded for three months."

Temari spewed out the juice she was drinking, and all the others stared at Naruto.

"You're kidding me. THREE months?!" asked a freaked out Temari. Sakura just nodded. Temari shook her head and went back to eating, muttering something about parents.

"_**Hey, Sakura. Do you think they would mind if Sasuke joined us?"**_ asked a curious Inner. Sakura froze at the thought of Sasuke.

"_Damn, we still have to finish our conversation. Hm, maybe they wouldn't mind. After all, Naruto __**is**__ Sasuke's best friend."_ Sakura, after thinking that, stood up.

"Sakura, where're you going?" asked TenTen, sipping her juice.

"Um, do you guys mind if I invite Sasuke to sit at our table?" Sakura saw the faces at the table freeze, and braced herself for what might come to her.

"Sasuke-teme? I thought you hated him, Sakura-chan," Naruto finally spoke.

Sakura shook her head and finished, "Not anymore."

Hinata stammered, "I-I don't r-really m-mind Sasuke-san h-here." All the others just nodded in approval, and Sakura smiled. She went over to find Sasuke.

When she finally found him, she even felt pity for him. The Uchiha was trying to eat his lunch, but a hoard of his fangirls were squishing him to death.

"_I wonder if this happens everyday to him. Well, not anymore,"_ thought Sakura, as she made her way towards Sasuke. The fangirls glared at Sakura when she approached their table.

"Sakura?" Sakura did nothing for a while when Sasuke said her name, but then she started to speak.

"Sasuke, would you like to sit at our table?" Sasuke immediately got out of the fangirls' grasps, grabbed his lunch, and walked along with Sakura. The fangirls shot Sakura death glares, and gossiped about her.

"Alright then Sasuke. You can sit at our table now. You don't need to worry about your fangirls at lunch now," said Naruto when Sasuke and Sakura got back to the table.

Sasuke just sat down between Naruto and Sakura and began eating his lunch. The others just went back to eating as well. Everything was going fine. Sakura and Sasuke were friends, and Sakura is trying to forget about her past. Nothing can go wrong now, right?

With Sasuke's fangirls

"Ugh, that pink bitch! Who does she think she is, stealing away Sasuke-kun?" fumed a very angry Karin. Ino leaned on their table, her arms crossed, deep in thought.

"Well, then why don't we crash her little party, hm?" murmured Ino. Karin smiled evilly, and talked with Ino, forming a truce.

"Operation: Ruin Sakura Haruno starts now," said an ominous Karin with a smirk.

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**Yes! I finally updated! I just got some ideas for this fic, so I tried to write it all in one night, and succeeded! Please review after reading! Well, 5 reviews will do for this chapter/fic. Hope you enjoyed it!**


	4. Bonding or Annihilating?

**Thank you to the people who reviewed or added this fic to their story alerts or fav stories. ^_^ Cookies to all of you! Here's the next chapter for you guys! Here are some review replies too.**

**NightWishX**: Thanks for reviewing. I'm glad you thought it was ok. ^_^

**SakuraPetals14**: Yeah, I know. Though I hate Karin more. Here's the next chapter, by the way! Enjoy!

**-PASSIIONATE-**: Yep, that's right.

**Writersrle**: Glad that you liked it, but I just thought her with Itachi would be interesting.

**itachimeri1989**: Well, here's the next chapter, then!

**swimgirl080**: Thanks for reviewing! I'm not gonna stop the fic. ^_^

**TheMissingPieceInaJigsaw.**: Thanks!

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**Bonding or Annihilating?**

"So you're sure it's going to work?" Karin asked Ino, still in the cafeteria. Ino nodded her head while biting her nail and glaring at the now laughing Sakura.

"Oh I'm sure. I have my ways of getting people to talk. She is so going down," answered Ino still glaring at Sakura with Karin joining in.

Meanwhile, at Sakura's table, Temari saw the two girls glaring at Sakura. She made a face and turned her attention back to the group.

She then leaned over and whispered to TenTen, "Hey, the president and vice president of his fanclub are glaring at Sakura."

"His? You mean Sasuke?" TenTen whispered back. Then, she glanced at the two girls and quickly whispered back to Temari, "Yeah, they sure are."

"Jealousy, it seems," answered Temari while keeping her eyes on the members of the fanclub. TenTen nodded her head in agreement.

"TenTen, what're you nodding your head for?" asked Naruto. Temari raised her eyebrows and just nodded her head towards the girls.

"Cinder-Sakura's stepsisters are asking for trouble," pointed out TenTen. Sakura turned back to see Karin and Ino giving her death glares. She almost immediately turned her back on them once more.

"I should've known. Sasuke-teme's giving Sakura-chan a bad reputation among the fangirls," commented Naruto, which earned him a smack across the head from Sasuke.

"Ow, teme! What was that for?" demanded Naruto while rubbing his head.

"Keep that mouth of yours closed, dobe," answered Sasuke.

Naruto twitched and yelled back, "What did you say?!" Temari shook her head and all the others sweatdropped.

"Here we go," said Temari, slapping her forehead. All the others kept quiet while the two argued.

Sakura leaned over and whispered to TenTen, "Hey, is that the reason why you guys don't invite Sasuke to this table?"

"Well, that's one reason. Another is his fangirls. You've already made enemies with two of them, and I'm sure there's still a lot more to come," answered TenTen. Sakura just sweatdropped and finished her lunch.

After Lunch

"Bye guys, see you tomorrow!" shouted Sakura before going to her next class with Naruto and Sasuke, which was Science.

Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke had to listen to their Science teacher, Asuma, talk about the solar system, and announced that they had a huge project on the solar system due in one week. That got the class groaning.

"To make life easier for you guys, I'm going to give you each a partner to work with on the project." Saying so, he got out a list of students in the class and started to announce the pairs.

"Sasuke Uchiha and Karin Kimashi." Sasuke let out a groan and banged his head on his table a few times while Karin was giggling with joy. Sasuke glanced over at Karin and she beamed. He resumed banging his head.

"Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka." Ino grinned evilly while Sakura just cast a look at Ino.

"Naruto Uzumaki and Kiba Inuzuka." Naruto and Kiba grinned at each other as a "cool" sign.

Asuma went on with his list and when everyone was put into pairs, he introduced the assignment. "Your project is to create a model of the solar system, and by model, I mean model. The distances and planet sizes have to be to scale. The distances and planets are just going to be shorter and smaller, but they all have to imitate the real solar system. After that, you and your partner have to do a presentation in front of the class. All of that is due in one week."

Before the students could complain, Asuma sent them off to their next class. Naruto was down in the dumps again.

"You gotta be kidding me. Due in one week? Build the whole solar system? This is definitely not my day," complained Naruto as he walked alongside Sasuke and Sakura.

"Cheer up, Naruto. At least you have Kiba to help you out," said Sakura, cheerfully to raise Naruto's spirits.

"Dobe, at least you're not with Karin. I doubt she'll do any work at all," commented Sasuke. Sakura sighed and Naruto smiled.

"You're right teme. I should pity you instead. Good luck working with your 'girl'." On the word "girl", Naruto made air quotes and ran off after saying his sentence, with Sasuke trailing behind him, swearing to catch and kill him.

That left Sakura alone in the hallway. She shrugged and was about to go to her next class when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around to see a blond girl with baby blue eyes, Ino Yamanaka.

"Hi. You must already know me, but I'm Ino; your partner for the science project," Ino introduced herself.

Sakura twitched before replying, "Yeah, I know. And you know me, don't you?"

"Of course, Sakura. You know, you've been quickly getting popular around the school since lunch time, when you invited Sasuke-kun to sit with you," Ino rambled.

"Uh huh, I see. Well, nice talking to you Ino, but I gotta get to my next class." Before Sakura could take off, Ino grabbed her arm, jerking her back.

"Come on Sakura, we both have the same class. Why rush? Let's talk about Sasuke-kun, ne?" Ino prompted.

"I really don't want to be late for class, Ino, but maybe we'll talk after school? About the project?" offered Sakura. Ino smiled and nodded. Then, the two girls headed off to their next class.

"_Why is she talking to me? Being nice, even? Just at lunch time, she was glaring at me,"_ thought Sakura, trying to figure Ino out.

"_**You think she's over Sasuke?"**_ suggested her Inner. Sakura shook her head mentally.

"_Nah, it can't be. But it has a possibility. I dunno. I'm not gonna think about it right now. I have class."_ Sakura then entered her next class with that last thought.

After School

"Bye Naruto, Sasuke. See you tomorrow!" Sakura waved to the two boys, who walked home. She was about to go home too, when she saw herself face to face with Ino.

"Hi, Sakura. You promised that we'll talk, so let's talk," said Ino. Sakura tried to think of an excuse to get out if it, but the only one she could think of was lame.

"Sorry Ino, but I got homework to do, so…" Sakura was quickly interrupted by Ino.

"Come on, Sakura. Forget about homework for a while. You're smart, you'll finish it in no time. Let's talk," prompted Ino, pulling Sakura over to a small car.

Sakura's eyes widened when she saw the car. She asked Ino, "You can drive a car? A Porsche?" (AN: I spelled the car right, right?)

Ino nodded and said, "Uh-huh. My dad got it for me. He said that I was cautious enough. So, get in." Saying so, the blond girl pushed Sakura in the passenger seat.

"Wait, where are you taking me?" demanded Sakura, when Ino pushed her in.

Ino herself got in the driver's seat and answered, "To my house, of course. We'll talk there, and we can plan out the project."

"_I kinda have a bad feeling about this,"_ thought Sakura uncomfortably.

When they reached Ino's house, Sakura was shocked. Her house was huge, with a big and beautiful garden consisting of almost all sorts of flowers.

"Wow, Ino. Your house is huge! And your garden is so pretty," complimented Sakura.

Ino smiled sweetly and replied, "Thanks, Sakura. My family has a lot of flower shops all over the world. We're pretty famous. Follow me."

Sakura and Ino walked into the house and up the steps into Ino's room. The walls were painted light purple and smelled really fragrant. Beside her bed was a vase containing some kind of flower and a lamp. There was a table and chair near the door, and a vase with the same kind of flower by her bedside was placed on the table.

"Ino, your room is really nice. You must really like that kind of flower a lot, right?" questioned Sakura.

Ino replied, "Those are cosmos. They go well with any flower when you put them together. I sometimes wear a cosmos when something formal comes up."

Saying so, Ino walked over to her table and picked up one of the flowers, and placed it near her head. "So, how do I look? Cute right?"

Sakura nodded along, "Yeah. You look nice." In Sakura's mind, Ino actually looked nice and innocent for once. She didn't look like the girl who had glared at her during lunch at all.

Ino tucked the cosmos in her hair. "I think I'm going to wear this now. That's for the compliment, Sakura. Now we can talk."

"Uh, sure Ino," said Sakura, sitting on the soft carpet laid out in Ino's room. Ino joined her, sitting in front of her.

"So, what do you think about Sasuke-kun? You don't really seem to like him when you first came here." Sakura sighed when Ino asked that. Ino made a confused face.

"Well, yeah, I didn't really like him because he reminded me of someone I really, really don't want to be reminded about," answered Sakura. After answering, she quickly realized what she had said and regretted it.

"_**Why the hell did you say that?! We've never told this to anyone before, except for Sasuke! No one knows about this, not even our parents!"**_ yelled her Inner, furious.

"_I don't know. It just slipped. This is strange,"_ thought Sakura. Ino was still talking.

"So that guy must have either looked a lot like Sasuke-kun or acted a lot like him, right?" Ino asked again. Sakura nodded slowly.

"Hm, I see. So how do you feel about Sasuke-kun now?" Sakura just sat there, lost in thought while Ino waited for her to answer.

"_How __**do**__ I feel about Sasuke? I like him as a friend? I partly hate him because of his brother?"_ As Sakura was thinking this, her Inner folded her arms and shook her head.

"_**Just tell Ino that you like him as a friend and get the easy way out," **_suggested Inner Sakura. The real Sakura mentally nodded and got out of her thoughts.

"I like him as a friend. And I guess I kinda pity him." Sakura then mentally slapped herself. Why did she have to say the last part?

"Pity him? Like how?" encouraged Ino. Sakura had no choice but to continue.

"Um, no offense, but girls are kinda torturing him. He doesn't really want to be stampeded by fangirls like that. No offense again, Ino." Ino just nodded her head, seeming to be in deep thought.

"I see. But he doesn't mind your company?" Sakura raised an eyebrow but answered the question anyway.

"I guess he doesn't. He doesn't really push me away when I hang out with him, but Naruto's also with us," Sakura quickly added.

"Hm, I see. So do you have a feeling that Sasuke-kun might actually like you as more than a friend?" Sakura blushed lightly when Ino brought up the question.

"I-I don't know. I mean, he's never shown any interest in me. I mean, no guy has, except one. And that one is such a jerk." Sakura mentally slapped herself again. Now she was telling Ino almost everything she has never told anybody.

"_**Sakura! Why are you spilling everything?!"**_ shouted Inner Sakura, fuming mad.

"_I don't know! It all just came out!"_yelled back Sakura, mentally to her Inner.

"_**You're just too honest with people. I mean, Ino's the only one who has actually asked you this before. Sasuke, he only asked part of it."**_ Sakura mentally nodded in agreement.

"A jerk? So you had a boyfriend once, but he was a jerk to you? That's gotta be harsh. What did he do anyway?" Sakura was hesitating this time when Ino asked her that. So, she continued, "If you don't want to tell me, then that's ok, but if you do, I promise that it's a secret between us."

Sakura started to stammer, "I-I've never told anyone this before, b-but you seem like you can k-keep it in I-I guess." Sakura took in one breath and started talking again, "This guy cheated on me with some other girl, and later, left me to be with that girl. He never mentioned her name, but only addressed the girl as 'her' or 'she'. That was that, and now, I'm trying to forget about it and move on, not sticking to the past," finished Sakura.

Ino smiled and nodded her head in understanding. "That has got to hurt you a lot, Sakura. And I might have a pretty good guess about who you're talking about."

Sakura froze for a minute before asking, "W-Who's your suspect?"

Ino kept smiling and answered, "Someone who looks a lot like Sasuke and acts a lot like him. A person who has a lot of fangirls, and a player." At the word "player", Sakura began to fume. Ino continued, "A person who's name is… oh, Itachi Uchiha?"

At the mention of the name Sakura's anger burst and started shouting, mostly directed to Itachi. Ino was shaken by Sakura's outburst and tried to calm her down.

"Sakura, calm down. It's the past, the past! This is the present, forget all about the past, forget about it! Now sit back down and calm down," said Ino, soothingly.

Sakura, for some reason, immediately calmed down. "Thanks Ino." She then sat back down on the carpet.

"No problem. Now you gotta stop hanging on the past. You seriously need to," advised Ino.

"_**Give that girl a prize. She can calm you down this quick,"**_ congratulated her Inner. Sakura ignored her.

"Yeah, I know. It's just hard to let it go, especially the anger part." After saying that, Sakura looked at her watch.

She got up immediately and said to Ino, "Sorry Ino, but I gotta go. I don't know how long we've talked, but I don't want my mom worried, since I usually come right home after school. So, see you tomorrow."

"Sure Sakura, see ya." Sakura bolted out the door and when Ino was sure she was completely gone, she took out a small voice recorder from her pocket, grinning.

"Thank you, Sakura. With the comforting smell of flowers in my room, how can any person keep in a secret when someone else asks? This is going very smoothly." Ino then took out the tape in the recorder and put it in her desk drawer, locking it in the process.

Then, she took out her cell phone and punched in Karin's cell phone number. The phone rang and rang, and finally, the redhead picked up.

"Hello, Ino? How's everything going?" asked Karin, who was in a very good mood today.

"It's going according to plan. Actually, it's going even better. It won't take long now. Be patient, Karin. The end is just beginning," said Ino in a threatening voice.

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**End of another chapter! Ino and Karin are cruel, aren't they? Well, review please! At least 5 reviews in order for the next chapter to come out. ^_^**


	5. Just Relax Or Not

**Wow, you guys must like this fic a lot. Well, enjoy this new chapter!  
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**Just Relax… or Not**

"Ah, finally, the weekends!" exclaimed Naruto, running out of the school. Sakura and Sasuke walked out after Naruto.

"Hey, hey, guys," called Naruto, turning around to face his two friends. "What do you say we do something fun this weekend? School's killing me right now."

Sakura's head immediately filled up with fun ideas for the weekend while Sasuke stared blankly at Naruto.

"Dobe, we haven't had much work for school these days," pointed out Sasuke. Naruto just glared at him and stuck out his tongue childishly.

"Then what would you call the science project?" asked Naruto sarcastically. Sasuke just turned away and ignored the blond boy.

After a moment of silence, Sakura spoke up. "Hey guys. Why don't we go to relax at the hot springs? I'll call TenTen, Temari, and Hinata, and they can bring the other guys. What do you say?" Naruto grinned his foxy grin, and Sasuke just "hn"ed.

"Cool! So when do we meet?" asked Naruto. Then, he rambled on, "Oh, what about at 9 AM on Saturday? Do you think it'll be crowded at the hot springs? Maybe not… Let's see… me, Sakura-chan, Sasuke-teme, Hinata, TenTen, Temari, Neji, Shikamaru, Kiba," Naruto murmured to himself, and starting counting off the number of people going to the hot springs.

Sakura giggled and continued, "Ok then! So, do we get to the hot springs at 9?"

Naruto finished counting and answered, "Yeah, sure Sakura-chan! I hope nine people isn't too much…"

Sakura shook her head and replied, "I think it would be ok. The hot springs is a huge place anyway. Bye guys, I have to go, see ya!" With those words, Sakura ran off to her house. Little did the trio know that two certain people were spying on them.

That night, Sakura called her girls, and they were all pretty bummed out from school work too. Going to the hot springs seemed like a great idea to them.

The next day, Sakura had to run full speed to the hot springs, just because she overslept. When she got there, the others were already relaxing in the pool.

"_Better late than never,"_ thought Sakura, as she started to take off her clothes. Then, she wrapped a towel around herself, and entered the women's section of the bath.

As soon as she went in the pool, she was greeted with a hug from Ino. The pinkette's eyes widened, not expecting the blond to be there.

"Ino, you're here too?" asked Sakura. Ino released her and nodded.

"Karin's here with me too," said Ino. Sakura looked over to TenTen, Temari, and Hinata, and they all seem to have worried looks on their faces.

Ino continued to speak, "It must be a coincidence that me and Karin ran into you guys in here. Oh and get this." Ino then lowered her voice to a whisper and said, "This is a co-ed bath."

Sakura's eyes widened with shock. She stammered/whispered, "B-But, then why the heck do they have separate entrances for men and women?!"

Ino shrugged and said, "Who knows? You're right, separate doors aren't needed." Ino then smiled a bit creepily.

"Please don't tell me you're going over to the guys' side," pleaded Sakura. Temari and TenTen twitched when they heard what Sakura thought Ino was going to do.

Ino kept grinning and nodded. "And Karin and I are gonna take you along with us!" she finished.

Out of the blue, Karin emerged behind Sakura and grabbed one of her arms. Ino grabbed Sakura's other arm. Together, the duo dragged Sakura to the boys' side, with Sakura yelling on the way. Meanwhile, TenTen, Temari, and Hinata decided to follow them, just to make sure that nothing bad happens to their friend. Actually, TenTen and Temari were the ones who wanted to follow Sakura. The two of them just dragged Hinata along for backup, but the poor girl was blushing like crazy.

"_What the heck are they up to now?"_ Temari asked herself. When Temari, TenTen, and Hinata caught up to Sakura, Ino, and Karin, they saw Ino and Karin drag Sakura behind a rock so that they wouldn't be spotted by the guys. Temari, TenTen, and Hinata hid themselves as well.

"What the heck are you guys doing?!" whispered Sakura to Ino and Karin.

"We're just looking for some fun," replied Karin.

"Besides, don't you want to see Sasuke-kun?" asked/whispered Ino. In reply, Sakura just blushed lightly.

"T-That's not the case! Seeing the guys like this is not my idea of 'fun'," whispered Sakura. Ino and Karin just shrugged.

"Ah, there's Sasuke-kun!" whispered Karin, peeking out from behind the rock. Ino did the same, and Sakura, on instinct, did too.

Suddenly, Sakura was pushed forward by Karin. The pinkette was taken by surprise, and so was Sasuke. However, when Sakura was pushed forward, a sharp edge on the rock she was hiding behind slashed her foot.

The pinkette staggered forward and looked up. She blushed when she saw Sasuke looking down at her.

Sakura tried to explain what just happened, "Um, sorry about that. I-I, was just well… ugh…" Before she could continue, Sakura suddenly fainted. Sasuke caught her before she hit the water. In the process, he saw that some of the water had suddenly turned red.

Sasuke lifted up Sakura bridal style, and spotted a huge gash on her foot, blood streaming out of the injury. (AN: If you're curious, Sakura was wearing a towel, so she wasn't completely naked.)

"S-Sasuke-kun?" whispered Sakura as she was slowly regaining consciousness. All of a sudden, Sakura's towel loosened, and fell off.

Sasuke's eyes widened and Sakura uttered a cry of embarrassment. Both of them were blushing beet red.

_SLAP! _

Sakura's palm came into contact with Sasuke's cheek. The blushing girl grabbed her towel and quickly wrapped it around her once more.

"Y-You jerk! And here I thought you were being nice!" Sakura stormed off to the girls' changing room after that.

Sasuke stood in the water and gently touched the place where Sakura had slapped him. Ino and Karin, on the other hand, were furious!

"_Why the heck did that happen?! She was only supposed to injure herself!!"_ Karin mentally shouted.

"_Ugh, looks like our plan didn't work as well as intended,"_ thought Ino. Then, the two of them snuck back to the girls' side of the hot springs, but not before being stopped by Temari, TenTen, and Hinata.

"Hey, what the hell was that for?!" asked Temari while blocking Ino and Karin's way. TenTen backed Temari up while Hinata looked panic stricken.

"It's none of **your** business," retorted Karin. She made an attempt to go past Temari, but was suddenly faced with a threat.

"If you two harm Sakura one more time, then get ready to get your asses kicked by me and TenTen." Karin and Ino just shrugged off her threat and made their way to the girls' side of the hot springs.

After they left, TenTen, Temari, and Hinata were about to leave as well, but the rest of the boys spotted them. "Hey, what are you girls doing here?" asked Naruto.

Hinata suddenly became faint and passed out. TenTen caught Hinata, and supported her.

"Ah, um, just… pretend that you never saw us! Bye!" Temari then, ran towards the girl's changing room, with TenTen trailing behind her, piggy-backing Hinata.

With Sakura

"_That jerk! I hate him!" _Sakura mentally screamed. She quickly changed and stormed out of the changing room. Before she could go out the door, Temari, TenTen, and an unconscious Hinata barged in from the other door.

"Wait Sakura, what happened out there?" asked Temari, concerned.

"Nothing, see ya," replied Sakura.

Temari grabbed Sakura's wrist and looked down. Sakura's foot was wrapped in a towel, but Temari could still see red stains on the while fabric. TenTen came closer, still carrying Hinata, but she spotted Sakura's injured foot.

"Sakura, seriously, what happened?" asked TenTen. Hinata, meanwhile, was starting to regain consciousness.

"I don't actually know. One moment, I was dragged to the boys' side by Ino and Karin, and the next moment, I had an injured foot, and was being held… by… Sasuke…" Sakura uttered the last three words slowly and quietly while blushing lightly.

"O…k… So how exactly did you injure yourself?" asked TenTen.

"I think I tripped," answered Sakura. Temari growled and TenTen sighed.

"I'm gonna skin those bitches alive," threatened Temari. "You didn't 'trip' Sakura, those bitches pushed you."

"Ino was kind to me," said Sakura. "It was an accident, right?"

"I doubt that. Those two have been giving you glares since the day you got close to their precious Sasuke-kun." Temari said "Sasuke-kun" in the way Ino and Karin says his name.

"Well, I don't know. I'm just gonna go. See you guys at school." Sakura then walked out the door.

On Monday

"Hey, hey, Sakura-chan! Why did you bail on us on Saturday?" asked Naruto.

"Oh, I just had an appointment that I happened to forget. Sorry about that," lied Sakura.

"Alright then. Well, see you in class, Sakura-chan!" Naruto then ran off. Sakura followed him, since she has the same class with him.

"Hey, Sakura!" yelled Ino. She hugged Sakura from behind, and continued, "Hey, you went early on Saturday. It was getting fun!"

"Sorry about that. I had to go early," said Sakura.

"No worries. There's always next time," said Ino. For some reason, Sakura didn't feel comforted by these words.

"Um, ok then. I gotta get to class, Ino. See ya." Sakura then ran to her class.

After a while, Ino's cell started to vibrate. Ino picked it up and talked. "Karin, so you got it going?"

"Yep. Everything's set," answered Karin.

"Nice. So, when will it start?" asked Ino, now grinning.

"In 3…2…1," Karin counted down. All of a sudden, the speakers started to play something.

"Hm, I see. So do you have a feeling that Sasuke-kun might actually like you as more than a friend?" Ino's voice came blaring out of the speakers.

"I-I don't know. I mean, he's never shown any interest in me. I mean, no guy has, except one. And that one is such a jerk." This time, Sakura's voice was heard.

"A jerk? So you had a boyfriend once, but he was a jerk to you? That's gotta be harsh. What did he do anyway?" asked the speaker Ino. There was a short pause, then, virtual Ino continued, "If you don't want to tell me, then that's ok, but if you do, I promise that it's a secret between us."

By this time, everyone in the school was listening. Sakura's jaw dropped open when she heard what Ino and Karin were playing. Naruto, who had no idea what was going on, just kept listening. Sasuke's eyebrows went up, way up as the speakers continued to play the conversation between Sakura and Ino.

"I-I've never told anyone this before, b-but you seem like you can k-keep it in I-I guess. This guy cheated on me with some other girl, and later, left me to be with that girl. He never mentioned her name, but only addressed the girl as 'her' or 'whe'. That was that, and now, I'm trying to forget about it and move on, not sticking to the past."

Meanwhile, Sakura was trying very hard not to cry. _"Why did I even say anything about that? I was such a fool!!"_ she mentally screamed.

"That has got to hurt you a lot, Sakura. And I might have a pretty good guess about who you're talking about." Tears were trickling down Sakura's face now. She clenched her fists and tried not to pound on the table. Sasuke watched her, concerned. He already knew what was coming.

"W-Who's your suspect?" At that moment, Sasuke got out of his seat and walked towards Sakura. She hung her head and cried softly. Sasuke grabbed her arm and lifted her up. Then, he dragged her out of the class.

"Someone who looks a lot like Sasuke and acts a lot like him. A person who has a lot of fangirls, and a player. A person who's name is… oh, Itachi Uchiha?" The conversation ended there.

Sakura was sobbing uncontrollably now and Sasuke had one arm around her to comfort her. Sasuke was trying to get Sakura out of the school, but both of them couldn't ignore the stares that people were giving Sakura. He just kept walking with Sakura.

"_Why did I ever say anything about that? I'm such an idiot!"_ Sakura yelled at herself mentally.

"_Oh they are so going down,"_ thought Temari, after she heard everything. TenTen, who was sitting beside Temari, unexpectedly pulled out a kunai and starting twirling it on her index finger.

"_Sakura-chan…"_ Naruto thought. He pitied Sakura. Her one huge secret was announced for the world to hear. (AN: Yeah, Naruto understood after the conversation was over.)

"_That was too much,"_ thought Sasuke. He walked Sakura to his car, a black Mercedes Benz, and gently set her down in the front seat.

"_Itachi's away at college, so I guess it would be safe to drive her to my house," _thought Sasuke. He got into the driver's seat and started the engine. Then, he backed out of the parking lot, and headed home.

"Sasuke, why are we driving away?" Sakura asked quietly.

"Hn, we're ditching today," answered Sasuke.

"Why?" Sakura asked again.

"I don't think you're in the condition to face Ino and Karin at school again, are you?" questioned Sasuke. Sakura just hung her head in reply.

When Sasuke pulled up at his house, Sakura already fell asleep. The young boy carried her, bridal style, to his room, and set her on his bed.

Sasuke covered her with his blanket and was about to go, when his door opened slowly. Sakura still didn't wake up when a certain somebody came into Sasuke's room.

"Hello, little brother," greeted Itachi.

"Itahci, what are you doing here?" asked a dumbfounded Sasuke.

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**Cliffhanger! Sorry about that… Well, I hope you guys liked this chapter! I'll want at least 8 reviews now. So, review! **


	6. Itachi’s Return and Sasuke’s Date

**Thanks for adding this story to your alerts list people! I appreciate it. ^_^ I would like more reviews though. Anyways, here's the next chapter! I hope you would enjoy this one. Oh, and by the way, my exams will be coming up, so I won't be updating anything next week, ok? **

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**Itachi's Return and Sasuke's Date**

_Recap_

_Sasuke covered her with his blanket and was about to go, when his door opened slowly. Sakura still didn't wake up when a certain somebody came into Sasuke's room._

"_Hello, little brother," greeted Itachi._

"_Itachi, what are you doing here?" asked a dumbfounded Sasuke_

_End of Recap_

"Itachi, why aren't you at college?" Sasuke asked again.

Itachi just smirked and replied, "I just wanted to visit. Is it a crime to come back to my family, little brother?" He noticed Sasuke shifting his position a bit to obscure Sakura, but Itachi noticed. The older Uchiha strode past Sasuke and spotted Sakura, sleeping peacefully.

"Are you dating her now, little brother?" asked Itachi.

Sasuke growled and replied, "That's none of your business, Itachi. Now stay away from her!"

Itachi turned to face Sasuke and said, "Just what is this girl to you anyway?"

"Don't think I don't know, Itachi. Why would you dump someone like Sakura?" asked Sasuke, walking past Itachi to Sakura's side.

Itachi's eyebrows shot up. "Sakura? That's Sakura?" He turned his attention to the pinkette on the bed once more.

Then he smirked again and continued, "She's changed. No more glasses, no more short hair." Sasuke twitched as Itachi ran his fingers through Sakura's long, pink hair.

"Why care for her now, Itachi? You've already hurt her once," said Sasuke, folding his arms.

"Did you think I left on purpose, little brother?" asked Itachi, starting to get annoyed. Sasuke remained silent.

"Did you think I wanted our father to find out about her? You know he would never approve," continued Itachi.

"Then why the hell did you tell her you have another woman? You knew that it would hurt her," said Sasuke.

"Naïve little brother, have you not thought of hatred? Sakura hating me would let her get over me faster," answered Itachi. "Though I did not expect myself to …" Itachi trailed off and looked back at Sakura.

"Get out Itachi," warned Sasuke.

"What makes you think I will, little brother?" taunted Itachi. Sasuke was starting to get pissed, and Itachi was already annoyed.

"I said GET OUT!" exploded Sasuke.

"Sasuke…?" muttered Sakura, as she slowly sat up on the bed. Her eyes scanned the dim room for Sasuke. She immediately spotted both brothers.

"Itachi," whispered Sakura.

"Hello, Sakura. It's nice to see you again," greeted Itachi.

For some reason, she felt all her anger for Itachi vanish. Itachi walked towards Sakura and hugged her. Sakura stopped thinking and hugged him back.

"_**What's wrong with you, girl?! You're supposed to be mad at that bastard! MAD!!"**_ yelled Inner Sakura.

"_For some reason, I'm not mad at all. I feel… calm," _Sakura replied mentally.

Sasuke was shocked. He recalled Sakura's hatred for Itachi. He couldn't believe that she would forgive him that easily. He ran out of his room and out of his house.

"_I can't believe that she would accept his apology and excuse that easily… I thought…"_ Sasuke's thoughts trailed off when he saw Naruto running towards him.

"Hey, Sasuke! You look emo today. Well, you always do, but you kinda look more emo than usual," said Naruto.

"Shut up, dobe. Just say what're you're going to say," snapped Sasuke.

"A little impatient, are we? Who the hell did that to Sakura-chan? How is she? Is she doing okay? I'm gonna kill whoever spread all that nonsense about Sakura-chan!" exploded Naruto.

"Dobe, it's the truth," spilled Sasuke.

His best friend's eyes widened, a lot, and he stammered, "B-But then, Sakura-chan, your brother, WHAT??!! The hell! Poor Sakura-chan… Is she okay?"

Sasuke nodded and replied, "Yeah, but take this. My brother's back."

The blond's eyes widened some more and shouted, "WHAT?! HOW? WHY? WHEN? I thought he was away at college!"

"Hn, apparentely he got a few weeks off and came back here. I don't know what he's planning, but Sakura's already forgiven him for dumping her," explained Sasuke.

"Sakura-chan FORGAVE him? In this small period of time? You gotta be kidding me, teme. How the hell can she forgive him so easily?! I'm gonna seriously talk to Sakura-chan," said Naruto.

"Don't. Don't do anything. Just… let them have their own reunion, ok, Naruto?" spat Sasuke.

Naruto looked hurt and shocked that his best friend would yell at him like that. Sure, they may not have gotten along that well, but Naruto's never heard Sasuke use that tone with him before.

Naruto narrowed his eyes and said, "Teme, you're pissed that Sakura-chan is with him again, aren't you?"

Sasuke just turned and started to walk away from Naruto, but the blond grabbed his wrist and stopped him. "I'm asking you a question, teme."

"Hn, I'm not obliged to answer that, dobe. Now let go," growled Sasuke.

"No. I'm not letting go until you answer me. You're jealous, aren't you?" asked Naruto.

"Just, shut up, Naruto!" shouted Sasuke. He forcefully pulled away his wrist and ran past his best friend. The blond just stood where he was, with a worried look on his face.

With Sakura and Itachi 

Sakura was still shocked at Itachi's return, and her own reaction towards him. She immediately fell for him all over again when she saw his face. The face she hasn't seen for a really long time. The face of the man she used to, and still, love.

Sakura couldn't think properly at all. Her brain was telling her to not trust or forgive him, but her heart was telling her the complete opposite. She was completely in love with the man who was embracing her. A small side of her felt something was off, though. She was in love with Itachi Uchiha, but a small voice inside of her was saying that there is another person for her. She tried to ignore that voice, but it kept coming back to her.

Sakura and Itachi pulled apart and started to talk with each other. "Sakura, you've grown your hair. Girls in your class must be jealous of your long, silky hair," complimented Itachi. He ran his fingers through her soft hair a few times.

Sakura blushed and replied, "You've always been flattering people, Itachi." Sakura hugged Itachi again, and buried her face in his chest. She took in his scent; the scent that was once so alluring to her. Sakura was so caught up in the moment that she never noticed that Sasuke was gone.

"Itachi, why did you come back? What happened to that … woman?" asked Sakura. Itachi put his hand on top of her head and kissed her forehead.

"I'm currently on vacation. I need to see my family once in a while too. I never expected you to be with my little brother," said Itachi.

"I'm in the same class as him, but if you mean "dating" when you say "with", then you're wrong. Sasuke and I aren't dating. We're close, but we're not dating. A lot of other girls are chasing him. It's the same situation with you. A lot of girls were after you, but you chose me. I considered myself the luckiest girl in the world to be your girlfriend. I always trusted you. I always loved you. I never expected you to… do what you did to me," said Sakura, showing some sadness.

"I'm sorry about that. I regretted that decision soon enough. I knew I can never be with someone my father chose for me," said Itachi.

"Wait, someone your dad chose? Then, you…" Sakura's words trailed off when Itachi finally told her the whole truth.

"Yes. My father expects me to marry her just because her family owns a huge business. You know my father. He's always trying to expand the family business," replied Itachi. "He also expects the oldest son to always follow his orders."

"You could've just saved the trouble and told me the truth, y'know," suggested Sakura. "I would've understood."

"My father wanted me to break up with you without you knowing about her. I'm sorry that I hurt you so much, my cherry blossom," apologized Itachi.

"I've already forgiven you, Itachi," replied Sakura.

Itachi and Sakura spent the whole afternoon together. Before Sakura left the Uchiha mansion, Itachi asked her out on a date. The pinkette immediately accepted. Itachi kissed Sakura on the forehead one last time, at the door, before Sakura skipped home, happily.

Meanwhile, Sasuke was sitting by himself on a park bench. He watched kids running around cheerfully, couples holding hands and walking, and families having some quality time together. Sasuke sighed once and hung his head.

"Hey, Sasuke-kun, why're you here by yourself?" A cheerful voice asked the younger Uchiha. Sasuke lifted his head to see a blond haired, baby blue eyed, teenager.

"Yamanaka, why are you here? Leave me alone," spat Sasuke. "Why aren't you at school anyway?"

Ino replied, "I skipped, just like you did. You're brooding, Sasuke-kun. Be more cheerful! Come with me!" Ino took Sasuke's right hand and pulled him up. She led him away from the park to an amusement park, which was right next door.

"Why did you bring me here, Yamanaka?" asked an emotionless Sasuke.

"To have some fun time, silly! Come on, I've already paid for the tickets, and I don't want to waste them!" Ino ran into the amusement park with Sasuke, hand in hand.

"Yamanaka, I'm not a huge fan of amusement parks, so I suggest we get out of here," said Sasuke.

"Please, Sasuke-kun. I really don't want to waste these tickets. By the way, you suddenly started calling me by my last name. Just go back to calling me Ino. Sasuke-kun, let's go on the roller coaster!" Ino once again, dragged Sasuke to ride the roller coaster.

"Yamanaka…" Sasuke started.

"Ah, ah, it's Ino," Ino corrected.

"Ino, are you sure you want to go on the roller coaster? You've never really shown much interest in high-speed things," said Sasuke.

"Well that's 'cuz I'm with you, Sasuke-kun. Let's go, hurry!" Ino grabbed Sasuke's hand again and took him to the roller coaster.

Ino, after going through her first hellish experience on the high-speed roller coaster, she stumbled out of the coaster, dizzy as hell, and was on the brink of throwing up.

"_Stop being dizzy, stop being dizzy, stop being so dizzy! Ugh, I hope I don't throw up in front of Sasuke-kun,"_ Ino thought.

"Hey, Yama… Ino, you okay?" asked Sasuke.

Ino, who was kneeling on the floor, tried to stand up, but couldn't. Sasuke had to pull her up by her arms. "Thanks, Sasuke-kun. I… guess I'm okay. I'm just a teensy, tiny, bit dizzy." Saying so, Ino stumbled backwards, about to fall again. "Woah…!" Ino uttered a small cry.

Just in the nick of time, Sasuke cushioned her fall. He had his hand underneath her arms, with her back on his thighs. Ino blushed and uttered, "Thanks again, Sasuke-kun."

"Hn, no problem," replied Sasuke, as he helped Ino up again.

Ino immediately perked up and said, "Sasuke-kun, let's go on the merry-go-round this time! Race you there!" Ino dashed off towards the merry-go-round immediately.

"Hey, Ino…" Sasuke started to say. "Hn, whatever." Sasuke followed Ino anyway.

The two of them went to almost all the rides in the amusement park. At one point, Ino spotted a small stall. There, she saw a little stuffed bunny. She tugged on Sasuke's shirt sleeve and pleaded, "Sasuke-kun, can you pleeessseee, get that bunny for me? It's sooo cute! Pleeessssseeee, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke sighed and said, "Alright, alright. I'll do it."

"Thank you, Sasuke-kun!" replied a very cheerful Ino.

Sasuke and Ino approached the stall and Sasuke tried his hand at shooting the rabbit. On the very first try, he hit the bunny right in the head. The stall keeper handed Sasuke the rabbit, which he gave to Ino.

"You got a pretty girlfriend there, my boy," commented the stall keeper.

"She's not my girlfriend," replied Sasuke. Before he could walk away, Ino grabbed his arm and dragged him to another ride: the Ferris Wheel.

When the two of them got in, the space was cramped. Their knees were touching, and Ino was blushing.

"_This is the first time I've actually spent quality time with Sasuke-kun. He seems like a different person now. He's so quiet at school, and always runs away from me. I guess I was crowding him too much at school. I'm so happy I get to spend time with Sasuke-kun here! Eek!" _ Ino mentally said to herself.

"So, Ino. Why did you skip school anyway?" asked Sasuke.

"To look for you, Sasuke-kun. You took Sakura and disappeared from school. I was just looking around the park, and I found you. Plus, I was already planning to take to you this amusement park today, so the timing was just right!" answered Ino.

"Weren't you and that other girl… Karin, the ones who played that conversation between you and Sakura over the school's speakers?" asked Sasuke, harshly.

Ino hung her head and replied, "Yeah, I confess, it was us. I'll admit, I was really, really, really jealous of Sakura. She was the only girl who got your attention. I wanted your attention too."

"_Great, I told him the truth. Karin's gonna be pissed at me,"_ thought Ino .

"Thanks for confessing, Ino. I expected you to lie. I think you might be a different person than I thought you were," said Sasuke.

"A different person…" whispered Ino.

Sasuke and Ino talked to each other and enjoyed the view from the Ferris Wheel. Sasuke was having a conversation with the one person who he never thought could tolerate, and Ino was talking to the very person she had a huge crush on.

After spending almost the whole afternoon at the amusement park, Sasuke and Ino said their goodbyes.

"Thanks for the wonderful afternoon, Sasuke-kun! I enjoyed it a lot!" thanked Ino.

"Hn, no problem," replied Sasuke. In fact, he somewhat enjoyed the afternoon at the amusement park too.

Ino waved good-bye to Sasuke as the Uchiha walked off towards his mansion. Ino was on cloud 9. She was filled with happiness. Suddenly, her phone started ringing.

"Karin, what's up?" greeted Ino cheerfully.

"What's up? What's up is that that little pink brat is not miserable AT ALL!" screeched Karin.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Ino, still cheerful.

"What I mean is that I saw her and her ex-boyfriend, Itachi Uchiha, outside the Uchiha mansion together! He kissed her on the forehead too! Ugh, she's so going down! You're helping again, Ino," said Karin.

"Sure, whatever, Karin," replied Ino, still dazed.

"Ino, what's wrong with you? You seem too cheerful. What happened?" asked Karin.

"Well…. I went to the amusement park with Sasuke-kun!" squealed Ino.

"You WHAT?!" yelled Karin.

"What's wrong with that, Karin? I saw him alone at the park, so I wanted to cheer him up. Calm down, red-head," said Ino.

"You…. Pig… bitch… You KNOW I like Sasuke-kun too!" shouted Karin.

"Well, you didn't come with me when I asked you to!" replied Ino.

"You didn't have to go and do that!" retorted Karin.

"Ok, ok, stop this madness!!" yelled Ino.

"Fine, I'll just meet you at school tomorrow," replied Karin.

"Alright, fine. Bye." Ino hung up and skipped home, still on cloud 9.

* * *

**Oohhh, some ItaSaku fluff! Don't worry, people, this fic ISN'T going to end up with SasuIno, I promise. Stay tuned for the next chapter! Don't forget to review! (I really want my top two fics to reach 100 reviews, and I think this fic is going quite well. 5 chapters and 41 reviews… not bad. I want to aim for 100 reviews though. So, please review!) **


	7. Friendship

**Thanks to the people who reviewed! I appreciated the alerts and favorites too! Please keep sending reviews for this story. This is my second story in my top priorities list. Please review after reading this chapter! Enjoy! **

**

* * *

****Friendship **

At school the next day, people kept staring at Ino. The blond girl was walking to her classes in a daze. Whenever she saw Sasuke, she wouldn't scream his name and chase him around anymore. She just nods her head whenever she passes by Sasuke. Karin, who would always walk beside her, was shocked to the core. The red head would still cling on to Sasuke, but she still expected her close friend to join her. Imagine her surprise when Ino did nothing but nod and say a word or two.

Karin finally walked to Ino while she was at her locker and asked, "What's wrong with you?"

"What do you mean?" Ino asked back.

"You know what I mean. You always used to cling onto Sasuke-kun and we would even argue over him. Now, you've changed into a totally different person! You've reverted back to…" Karin was then interrupted by Ino.

"What's wrong with change, Karin? Sasuke-kun actually likes me better now. That date with him really opened my eyes," said Ino.

"Come on, Ino! You're really turning back to…" Karin stopped herself and sighed. She continued, "I guess I'll have to deal with this Ino for now. We still have to take care of the pink billboard-brow. Do NOT bail out on me for that."

Ino sighed and replied, "Yeah, sure, whatever." (AN: Is it me, or is Ino starting to sound like Luna from Harry Potter? XD)

"Speak of the devil, here she comes, with her little crew no less," croaked Karin with disgust.

Ino just watched them pass by, smiled at them, and even said a small "hi". The three of them kept walking, but Sakura turned her head, her eyes wide with surprise. She smiled back at Ino and returned the "hi".

"Ok, that was just crap! What was that, Ino? WHAT?!" cried Karin. Before Ino could say anything, Karin stormed off, roughly pushing anyone who was in her way. Ino watched her stomp off. She simply shrugged it off and thought that Karin would come back to her senses. Oh, was Ino very wrong.

Ino walked to her classes alone and even walked a while with Sasuke. When lunch came, Karin didn't show up at Ino's table. Stares were directed at her as she ate at her table, alone. Something that attracted even more stares was the fact that Sasuke got up from his table and went to sit with Ino. The young blond smiled a real smile, which somewhat surprised Sasuke. There was not one trace of the false smile that she used to have.

Meanwhile, Sakura, Temari, TenTen, and Hinata were staring, wide eyed at Ino and Sasuke.

"Woah, this is seriously not happening. I never expected this to happen. Never!" squeaked TenTen.

Temari swallowed her fruit salad and said, "Something definitely up. What happened, exactly, yesterday, Sakura?"

Sakura picked at her food and replied, "After that little incident with the speakers, Sasuke drove me to his house, no, mansion. There, I got the shock of my life." Sakura then leaned forward, motioning the other three to do the same. She lowered her voice and continued, "I saw Itachi."

Hinata almost spurt out her milk while TenTen almost chocked on her apple. Temari banged her hands on the table and leaned closer. "Are you serious? Itachi? THE Itachi that you used to…" Temari then trailed off.

"Mm hm. That Itachi. Itachi Uchiha," whispered Sakura, taking a bite of her sandwich.

"A-And you're okay w-with that, S-Sakura?" stammered Hinata.

"Mm, yeah. I forgave him the second I saw him, which was really weird," said Sakura.

"You did? I thought you were so mad at him that you never wanted to see his face again," commented TenTen, finishing up her apple.

"Well, I don't know what came over me. The moment I saw him, I forgave him, on the spot. He even asked me out on a date!" squeaked Sakura.

"And you accepted?" asked Temari.

"Of course. I already told you I've forgiven him," said Sakura, leaning back.

"B-But Sakura, h-he might c-cheat on-on you a-again. Y-You never know w-with boys," stammered Hinata.

"Hinata's got a point. Have you thought about what you will do if he broke up with you for another woman again?" asked TenTen.

"Well… about that. He told me the reason for the break up. He said his dad expected him to marry this other girl that he chose for him. He had to break up with me," whispered Sakura.

"And what if he's lying? What will you do? Sakura, you can't just forgive him like that. You can't trust him just like that. He has a reputation as a player. That makes it even harder for me to trust him. I don't know what you were thinking, Sakura," spilled Temari.

"I… haven't really thought about that," admitted Sakura.

"See what I mean? You'll have to think ahead. What if what he said was all a lie? You need to be stronger than this, Sakura." Temari then pat her back once, gathered her tray, and walked away.

"Hey, Sakura, do you have any idea what's up with Ino and Sasuke?" asked TenTen.

Sakura stopped in mid-bite, and lowered her sandwich. For some reason, she didn't like the fact that Sasuke and Ino were spending a lot of time together. She didn't like that feeling at all. Sakura was confused now. She doesn't like Sasuke. Of course she doesn't. Then, why does she have this feeling that makes her want to punch Ino so badly? No, that was not possible. She can't possibly like two different guys at once. That would be so… slutty!

"Hey, Sakura? Hello?" TenTen waved her hand in front of Sakura's face.

The pinkette snapped out of it and answered, "No clue. Sasuke and Ino can do whatever the hell they like with each other." Sakura chomped down the rest of her sandwich and quickly got up.

"Wait, Sakura. It almost seems to me like you're jealous," teased TenTen.

"Oh, shut up, TenTen. I'm not jealous, ok?" retorted Sakura.

"But, you s-seem l-like it, S-Sakura," said Hinata.

"Not you too, Hinata," whined Sakura. "Ah, whatever, guys. I clearly don't know anything now. So, I'll be going now, ok?" The pinkette crumbled up her paper bag and walked away.

"Something doesn't seem right, don't you think, Hinata?" asked TenTen.

"U-Uh, yeah. I-I don't t-trust I-Itachi. He s-seems too…" Hinata was interrupted by TenTen.

"Too much of a charmer for Sakura to handle? Maybe. This is getting complicated. Ino's changed dramatically too. She even greeted us today!" explained TenTen.

"R-Really? Don't you thing t-that something's s-strange?" asked Hinata.

"Maybe. I can't really put my finger around it. Something I don't get is how Ino could change so fast. One day she's this evil, plotting, selfish bitch. Now, today, she's this… completely different person," said TenTen.

"Y-Yes. D-Do you think that s-she used to be l-like she is now?" asked Hinata.

"Who knows? She might have been, if she changed personalities so quickly. Then again, what if this is an act? But, this seems too… real to be an act. Did you see her smile when Sasuke came and sat with her?" asked TenTen.

"Y-Yes. I-It looked so r-real. U-Usually I can tell that h-her smile is f-fake, but today, h-her smile s-seems so real," commented Hinata.

"You got that right. I wonder about Ino's past. Was she like this before she became Karin's buddy bitch?" wondered TenTen.

"T-TenTen, w-we'd better g-get to our lockers now," said Hinata.

"The bell hasn't rung yet though. What's the rush?" asked TenTen.

"O-Oh, nothing. I just n-need to take care o-of something," stuttered Hinata.

"Alright then, see ya later, Hinata," said TenTen.

Hinata ran to her locker and opened it. "Aah, I couldn't tell TenTen! It's too e-embarrassing!" wheezed Hinata. _"I w-wanted to give Naruto-kun a-a Christmas p-present. I-I even have it in my locker! I-It's still t-too early. Aaahh,"_ Hinata wailed mentally.

Hinata opened her locker and was a bit surprised to see a picture. "Hm? W-Whose is this?" she whispered. Hinata took the picture and her eyes bulged. Two children were hugging and laughing in that picture. Hinata just couldn't believe that those two were Sakura and Ino.

"_W-What's going on? S-Sakura and I-Ino were friends? W-When?"_ asked Hinata mentally. _"I-I need to show this t-to Sakura."_ Hinata tucked the picture into her jeans pocket, gathered her books and went to her next class.

* * *

_After School _

"Sakura, Sakura! W-Wait!" yelled Hinata.

"Hinata, what's up?" greeted Sakura.

"I-Is this picture real?" asked Hinata, handing the photo to Sakura.

Sakura's first reaction was surprise, then confusion. "Where did you find this, Hinata?" asked Sakura.

"I-In my locker. I-I don't know h-how it g-got there," answered Hinata.

Sakura examined the picture again. She said, "For sure this was me, but, me hugging and laughing with Ino? I'm not sure about that." She handed the picture back to Hinata and continued, "There might be a chance that it really happened, but I can't recall. Sorry, Hinata."

"Y-You don't have to apologize, S-Sakura. I-I was just wondering," said Hinata.

"I see. Well, have a nice evening, Hinata. Bye!" Sakura walked away from Hinata. At the same time, the pinkette was apologizing in her mind, _"Sorry, sorry, sorry Hinata. I can't tell you just yet. I have a pretty decent feeling that you'll go to Ino for this. I'm pretty sure this will jostle her memory. Sorry to you too, Ino, I had to take the picture out of your album. I don't want you to figure out that I put the picture yet. Sorry, sorry, sorry, __**sorry**__ to both of you. Ino, I still remember our friendship, the way that it used to be. I hope we can repair that. I sincerely hope I'm not falling for Sasuke-kun again. If I do, then, I can't really help who I fall for. I really don't want to fight with you in any way, Ino. Again, sorry, Hinata, Ino."_

The dark haired Hyuuga stood there, confused. Her curiosity got the better of her, and she decided to ask the other person in the picture: Ino, just like Sakura predicted. (AN: Well, it was pretty easy to predict.)

Hinata frantically searched for Ino, and found her, walking out of the school building, hand in hand with Sasuke. _"Are they t-turning into lovebirds? No, s-stop it. I-I need to a-ask Ino,"_ Hinata mentally slapped herself. "I-Ino!" she called.

The blond stopped talking to Sasuke and turned to face Hinata. "See you tomorrow, Sasuke-kun," said Ino as she waved goodbye to Sasuke.

Once Hinata reached Ino, she fidgeted. _"S-Should I a-ask? W-What if she yells at m-me? I-I hope s-she still has h-her niceness. H-here goes,"_ Hinata urged herself.

"U-Um, I-Ino, um," Hinata started to stammer like crazy.

"Well, what do you wanna say, Hyuuga?" asked Ino.

"U-Um, c-can y-you j-just c-call me H-H-Hinata?" asked Hinata.

"Oh, sure. What's up, Hinata?" asked Ino.

"U-Um, well, t-this p-photo," Hinata started. She handed the photo to Ino, whose eyes widened.

"Where did you get this?" mumbled Ino.

"W-Well, i-it was in m-my locker, a-and I w-was curious, s-s-so, I w-wanted to a-ask you a-about it, a-and, um," Hinata's stammering was interrupted by Ino.

"Why didn't you ask Sakura about it? You're closer to her," said Ino.

"I-I did, b-but s-she said s-she can't r-recall," stuttered Hinata.

Ino's face saddened and she replied, "Oh, I see. I… expected her to remember our childhood."

"Y-You two w-were f-friends b-before?" asked Hinata.

"Oh yeah. We were best friends," answered Ino. She looked up at Hinata and continued, "Y'know, why don't we talk somewhere else? Come with me to my house." Ino led Hinata to her Porsche and they drove to Ino's house.

Hinata's reaction when she saw Ino's house was almost the same as Sakura's. "W-Wow, the flowers a s-so pretty. Y-You have a n-nice house too. It looks c-cozy," praised Hinata.

"Thanks. My family owns flower shops all over the world. We're pretty famous. Come on, let's go to my room," said Ino, leading Hinata to her room.

"Your room h-has a nice f-fragrance," commented Hinata.

"Thanks. I have a bunch of cosmos flowers in my room. They're the prettiest flowers in the fall," explained Ino. Saying so, she plucked one cosmos and placed it near her right ear. "This was something I did when Sakura and I were best friends. I told her all I knew and learned about flowers. Come, Hinata, sit on my carpet."

Once Hinata sat, Ino started her story. "I first met Sakura when she was crying at a park."

_Flashback_

_"Hey, what's wrong?" asked a concerned, young, Ino._

_"Um, my forehead," whispered Sakura._

_"What? Can you speak up?" asked Ino._

_"My forehead," Sakura almost yelled._

_"That's better. Now let's see." Ino put her palm on Sakura's forehead and commented, "Wow, it is huge." Sakura started sniffling again. "No, no, I'm sorry. I was just a little surprised. Don't take it as an offense, really," apologized Ino._

_"Who're you?" asked Sakura._

_"My name's Ino Yamanaka. What about you?" said Ino._

_"I-I'm Sakura Haruno," replied Sakura._

_"Heh, your name suits you. I have to say, the color of your hair and your eyes match so well," praised Ino._

_"T-Thank you," muttered Sakura._

_"Y'know, you'd be really cute if you didn't cover your forehead with your bangs. Hey, come with me to my house. I'll fix you up there." Ino grabbed Sakura's hand and ran to her house._

_Ino's house, then, was still a small house, but it was comfortable, and the garden was beautiful. "Ino, your garden's so pretty," commented Sakura._

_"I get that a lot. My family owns the Yamanaka Flower Shop. We're planning to expand our business pretty much all over the world," said Ino._

_"Wow, really? You're gonna be rich when you grow older, Ino-chan," said Sakura._

_"Come on, I'll show you my room." Ino led Sakura to her room, which was quite small then._

_Ino had a typical bedroom, nothing fancy. There was a bed with purple sheets and a teddy bear next to the pillow. Beside the bed was a small bedside table. On the table were a lamp and a vase, which was filled with one type of flower. Ino had her school bag on a bigger table, which also had a mirror, a comb, and some hair clips. The walls were painted a pale pink._

_"Ino-chan, your room's so nice, and it smells so great!" whispered Sakura._

_Ino giggled and said, "Thank you. My favorite flowers are the cosmos flowers, which are the ones in the vase near my bed." She walked over to the vase, pulled out a flower, and placed it in her hair. "So, do I look cute, or what? Be honest."_

_"Y-You look really pretty, Ino-chan," commented Sakura._

_"Thanks Sakura! Here, sit on my bed," said Ino._

_Sakura sat still on Ino's bed while the young blond was searching for something in her drawers. She came back with her comb, mirror, and a red ribbon. Ino combed Sakura's hair first, then she placed the ribbon, like a headband, on Sakura's head, and tied it. That got the bangs out of the way._

_Ino held the mirror in front of Sakura and said, "See, you look much better like that."_

_"T-Thank you so much, Ino-chan," thanked Sakura._

_"No problem, Sakura!" said Ino._

_End of Flashback_

"That was our first meeting. We would spend most of our time together. Sakura was always being picked on because of her huge forehead," said Ino. She forced a giggle and continued, "I remember fending off a group of girls that were picking on her once. I remember those times. were only eight then. Three years later, Sakura had to move somewhere. Both of us cried our eyes out the day before she left."

"I-If you w-were so close t-to Sakura, t-then why d-did you d-do those n-nasty things t-to her?" asked Hinata.

Ino ignored Hinata and went on, "Sakura and I wrote letters to each other every day. Then, a year later, she came back. We met up again as twelve year olds. We spent time with each other, just like before. Some time later, Sakura gave me back the ribbon that I gave her. She said that she wouldn't lose to me anymore, and that she wasn't the little girl she used to be. We acknowledged each other as rivals then. When we were eight, we fought over Sasuke-kun too! Before she moved away again, we made a promise that both of us would grow our hair out, and when we meet again, we'll see whose hair is longer. Sakura told me once that Sasuke-kun likes girls with long hair."

"S-So, Sakura moved t-twice?" asked Hinata.

"She sure did. We lost contact with each other after that. Now, she's back again, as a sixteen year old. Her hair's gorgeous now, but it's still a little shorter than mine, not that she would remember anymore. You know that I'd already made friends with Karin. I picked up all her habits and manners and became the girl that I am. When Sakura came back, I expected her to know who I was, to come and greet me. I didn't expect her to forget that we were best friends completely. Sasuke-kun seemed to not remember who she was either, since we only saw him once. However, he looked interested in Sakura, but she looked pissed when she saw him. That got my brain working. Why would Sakura be pissed at Sasuke-kun? We used to fight over him when we were young. Karin and I tried to ruin Sakura because she got Sasuke-kun's attention. I was just thinking of myself then. I didn't think of my used-to-be-best friend." Ino plucked the cosmos out of her hair.

"S-So now w-what are you g-going to d-do, I-Ino?" said Hinata.

"Well, I'm gonna leave Sakura alone for one thing. I'm not helping Karin anymore. Seeing this photo again has refreshed my memories. I'm curious about something though. Who would put this picture in your locker? Only Sakura and I have these pic…. Oh no she didn't," growled Ino.

"W-What, Ino?" stuttered Hinata.

"Karin. She's the only one who knows my room that well to take this picture," said Ino.

"W-What if it's not Karin?" asked Hinata.

Ino went to her drawers and rummaged around. She pulled out a small photo album and flipped through it. "Just as I thought. That picture's from my album," said Ino.

"B-But why would K-Karin put t-that picture i-in my locker?" wondered Hinata.

"I have no idea what that girl's thinking. She must be up to something. Me seeing that picture is just gonna not make me help her anymore. What's she trying to do?" Ino asked herself.

"M-Maybe this photo is nothing. Maybe s-she's planning s-something else," suggested Hinata.

"After all these years, I still can't figure out her devious plans. We'll have to see what happens. If something does happen, then I'll be helping you guys now," declared Ino.

"_W-What if S-Sakura was the one w-who put the p-picture in my locker? W-What if she was t-trying to do s-something for someone? W-Was she t-trying to help I-Ino look back at their f-friendship? What if s-she really remembered, all this t-time?" _Hinata mentally asked.

"I-Ino, what if it was S-Sakura who put that photo i-in my locker?" Hinata asked out loud.

"Hm, if Sakura didn't remember who I was, then how could she have done it?" said Ino.

"I-I'm starting to have a feeling t-that she really remembers. S-She just w-wanted you to see t-this photo s-so that you might remember that you were f-friends once? Maybe s-she was trying t-to say that?" pondered Hinata.

"You've got a point, Hinata. Well, if Sakura did it, then thanks girl. If Karin did, then, well, there's no difference. Either way, I've finally opened my eyes, thanks to this picture. Hinata, if you guys have any more trouble, you can count me in to help, 'kay?" suggested Ino.

"U-Uh huh. Ok, Ino. T-Thank you. I g-guess there really was a nicer person in you a-all this t-time," stuttered Hinata.

"The angel Ino was in there all right. She was just asleep for a long time," said Ino, grinning.

* * *

**Whoo! I'm done with this chapter! Was it a surprise? Was this unexpected? ^_^ By the way, I finished typing this at the beach, and I have no Internet. Plus, today's (the day I finished this chapter) is 25****th**** December! Merry Christmas you guys! As Christmas gifts, please leave reviews! If you don't get something in this story, you can just leave a review stating what you don't understand. **

**I said Merry Christmas, but since it's already new year, Happy New Year too! (A belated one anyway...)I hope you all had a great year! Now, it's time to start fresh, and think of new resolutions for 2010! Whoo! **

**Oh… and by the way, if you guys have time, can you please go to my profile and check out my other main story, "The Pokemon Adventures of Team 7"? It's a Pokemon/Naruto crossover. Naruto characters handle Pokemon, and the main character is Sakura! Team 7 is basically the focus of the story, as they travel around the Hoenn region. Sakura enters contests, while Naruto and Sasuke battle gym leaders. So, please check out that story if you have time! Reviews are appreciated too! **


	8. Confrontation

**Thank you so much for your reviews! I got ten of them when I checked my mail! Thank you, all of you who reviewed! Credits to: Soul-Jazz, -CrAzY-vAmPiRe-DuDeT-, KayeStar, and especially SparkDazzleDuez, since she reviewed for all the chapters! Here's the next chapter! I hope you'll enjoy! **

**Oh, and holy (who is an anonymous reviewer), leave me some contact information so that I can reach you, and then we can discuss what you didn't like and how I should improve on my story instead of leaving an anonymous review with a flame!  
**

**

* * *

Confrontation**

"_If it __**was**__ S-Sakura who snuck t-the photo in, h-how did she get it from I-Ino's album? If it w-was Karin, what m-motive does she have?"_ Hinata went to bed and woke up with these questions stuck in her head. The poor girl was overridden with curiousity.

She even had the guts to go and ask her cousing something like, "N-Neji-nii-san, have you ever h-had an o-old friend w-who shows up o-out of nowhere, a-and somehow doesn't r-remember you?"

Neji looked at his cousin like she's lost her mind. "No, Hinata-sama, why?" Neji asked.

Hinata stuttered, "N-Nothing, Neji-nii-san. I-I'll just see you a-at school!" The girl rushed off to school, leaving her cousin confused.

As Hinata walked to school, she sighed and mentally cursed herself. _"Hinata, w-what were you thinking? A-Asking Neji-nii-san s-something like that. H-He probably thinks I-I need therapy n-now."_ The Hyuuga sighed again and kept walking. The young girl looked down as she was walking, and suddenly bumped into someone.

"A-Ah, I-I'm sorry, I w-wasn't watching w-where…" Hinata looked up and stopped apologizing. As soon as she saw the bright blond hair, cerulean blue eyes, and the trademark fox whiskers, her face heated up.

"Hey, Hinata! We don't usually bump into each other, do we? Sorry about that," said Naruto. He jumped up and brushed the dust of him. Then, the blond grinned and held his hand out to the young girl. Hinata's face heated up even more (if that's even possible) as she took Naruto's hand. Naruto pulled Hinata up, brushed some dust off her clothes and fixed her hair for her.

"There, that's better. Hey, you're on your way to school, right? Let's walk there together," suggested Naruto. Hinata was frozen stiff and couldn't reply at all. Naruto sighed and grabbed her hand again. The blond dragged her along as he walked.

"_Naruto-kun's holding my hand, Naruto-kun's holding my hand, Naruto-kun's holding my hand..."_ Hinata repeated the phrase in her head, without stuttering and at a very high speed.

Once the two of them got to school, Naruto let go of Hinata's hand and said, "Hinata, we're here. Hinata, hey!" Hinata was still looking down and breathing heavily. Naruto took her chin and lifted her face. He looked into her eyes and asked, "Hey, Hinata, you're acting strange. You… hey!" Hinata had finally fainted; in Naruto's arms no less.

People at school were staring at the unconscious Hinata and the panicky Naruto. Eyes of suspicion scanned the two of them. Naruto carried Hinata, bridal-style, to a nearby tree and put her down. He fanned her using his hands, trying to get her to regain consciousness. "Hinata, you just had to faint at a time like this," complained Naruto.

Suddenly a hand gripped Naruto's shoulder. He froze and turned his head slowly. "What do you think you're doing with my cousin, Naruto Uzumaki?" Neji forced out, ominously.

"H-Hey, she was the one who fainted!" replied Naruto.

"I have a feeling you have something to do with Hinata-sama being unconscious," said Neji, still in his ominous voice.

"I didn't do anything, I swear!" shouted Naruto.

"As if I should believe what you say," said Neji.

"Come on, Neji, hear me out!" replied Naruto.

Meanwhile, Hinata was slowly regaining consciousness. The scene was still a bit blurry when she opened her eyes again. As the images became clearer, she saw that her cousin and her crush were having a heated argument; about her fainting, no less. She quickly got up and broke off the fight.

"N-Neji-nii-san, please, stop. N-Naruto-kun wasn't doing a-anything," defended Hinata.

"Who's not doing what?" Temari walked over to the three of them.

"Nothing," replied Neji. He walked off as Temari got there.

"What's with him?" asked Temari.

"No idea," answered Naruto.

"Well, I guess your boyfriend is one mysterious guy, TenTen," Temari said loudly.

TenTen, who was following Temari, stopped in her steps. She twitched and shouted, "He's not my boyfriend, Temari!"

"Okay, okay, whatever," said Temari. The older blond turned to Hinata and whispered, "Did you see them doing anything 'suspicious' while they're practicing archery at the Hyuuga mansion?"

Hinata whispered, "I-I don't really go a-and watch them, so, I-I don't know."

"Temari! Stop doing that!" yelled TenTen.

"Alright, alright. Stop yelling, TenTen, I was only teasing," said Temari.

"Come on, guys, we have to get to homeroom," complained Sakura, who was behind the fuming brunette. Sakura grabbed TenTen's wrist and dragged her to class. Temari went to her own homeroom, and Naruto and Hinata ran off as well.

"_Ah, I-I wanted t-to ask Sakura about t-the photo again. I'll j-just have to do it a-at lunch,"_ thought Hinata.

With Sakura and TenTen 

Just before class started, Sakura leaned on TenTen's desk and asked slyly, "So is it true you and Neji are going out?"

TenTen banged her hands on her desk and stood up. "Why is everyone saying that?! For the last time, I'm not dating Neji!" All pairs of eyes in the class stared at her. TenTen, embarrassed, quietly sat back down in her seat. "Thanks a lot, Sakura," whispered TenTen, through gritted teeth.

"Ah ha ha… sorry about that," apologized Sakura. "But seriously, are you two…"

"When I say no, I **mean** no!" spat TenTen.

"But you two look so…. close and you go to his house almost every day!" said Sakura.

"I go to his house for archery practice, and plus, Hinata's there! We're childhood friends, Sakura!" argued TenTen.

"_Childhood friends…"_ The phrase had haunted Sakura ever since Karin and, especially Ino, revealed their conversation to the school.

"Hey, class is about to start. Go back to you seat," said TenTen.

"Sure. Sorry for bothering you, Ten," said Sakura. She took her seat just as the teacher came in. Sakura decided to ask Hinata if she had asked Ino about the photo yet, and the pinkette also thought of confronting Ino. This was going to be a long day. The new freshman can never escape the complications of school and friends, can she?

Sakura quickly ate her lunch and asked Hinata to follow her. Hinata dropped her fork and followed the pinkette.

"U-Um, Sakura…" Hinata started to say.

"Hey, Hinata," Sakura said.

"U-Uh, you can go f-first, Sakura," said Hinata.

"Okay, um, did you ask Ino about the photo, and stuff?" asked Sakura, fidgeting as she did so.

"Y-Yeah. T-The photo is t-true. I-Ino told me everything. Y-You two were s-so close," answered Hinata.

"Oh, thank God, she remembers!" wheezed Sakura, putting her hand over her chest.

"H-Huh?" said Hinata, confused.

"Oh yeah. I remembered Ino when I first saw her, Hinata. I was playing dumb all this time," explained Sakura.

"B-But, why?" asked Hinata.

"I wanted to see if Ino remembered who I was without me having to tell her. I thought she completely forgot about me, since I know Ino's not the kind of person who does bitchy acts. I thought the photo would refresh her memory a bit," said Sakura.

"W-Why did you t-take the photo f-from her album? I-Ino said you h-had one too," said Hinata.

"Well, I didn't want you guys to suspect me yet. So, I asked her mom if she still had that photo and I got it," clarified Sakura.

"Now I see. S-Sakura, you j-just brought out t-the better side o-of Ino," said Hinata.

"I thought if she remembered out past, she would turn back to the Ino I knew," said Sakura.

"I-Ino said that s-she would h-help us f-from now on," said Hinata.

"That's good to hear. I still have to talk to her. How many minutes do we still have before lunch is over?" asked Sakura.

"We still have about ten minutes," answered Hinata.

"Perfect. Well, later, Hinata. I gotta go talk to my old friend." Sakura ran off into the lunchroom again, and searched for Ino.

Ino and Sasuke were sitting at one table again, chatting like they have known each other for a long time. Sakura stopped in her tracks when she saw them together like that. Her chest was starting to hurt a little again. She clutched her chest and tried to calm down by taking deep breaths. _"I might have a small cardiac problem. What's with the pain in my chest?"_ Sakura mentally asked herself.

She ignored it and slowly walked to Ino and Sasuke. Sasuke said something to Ino and the blond giggled. She hugged Sasuke's neck and kissed him on the cheek. Sasuke, to Sakura's surprise, didn't budge at all. The pinkette could feel the chest pains again, but this time, she also felt a little bit of anger. Sakura looked over at Karin's table and saw the red head glaring at her old friend. _"She has a right to do that. I mean, look at Sasuke and Ino. They look like they're dating. Why is this hurting me?!"_ Sakura mentally shouted.

Ino and Sasuke kept chatting, acting as if nothing has happened. Sakura even heard Sasuke laugh softly. She stopped walking. That was too out of character for Sasuke. Sasuke Uchiha is not a person who laughs. Not in Sakura's point of view, anyway. Sasuke Uchiha is the brother of Itachi Uchiha, who she's dating. Sasuke Uchiha is a stoic ice cube, and Ino Yamanaka made him laugh? That was impossible. Sasuke didn't like Ino at all! At least, that's what it looked like when she first came to the school.

Wait. Sakura shook her head to clear her mind. She was turning back into the Sakura who fought with Ino over Sasuke. She didn't want to turn back into fangirl Sakura who fought with her best friend.

Sakura tried not to care about them or what their current relationship is as she stiffly walked towards them. Ino stopped giggling when Sakura stopped at their table. "I-Ino, can I talk to you?" asked Sakura stiffly.

"Sure, Sakura," said Ino. She followed Sakura to the courtyard, the place where Hinata and Sakura talked.

"You finally remembered?" asked Sakura once they were at the courtyard.

"Our past? Our friendship? How we used to fight over Sasuke-kun? Yeah!" exclaimed Ino.

"Thank God for that," said Sakura. Ino stretched out her arms for a hug, and Sakura ran into them. The two friends laughed and squeezed the life out of each other.

"It feels so good to have you back as Ino, Ino," teased Sakura.

"Well, sorry for my past behaviors. I picked them up while hanging out with Karin. Blame it all on her!" explained Ino.

Sakura put her hand on Ino's shoulder and said, "I just want you the way you are now, Ino. I don't care about what you did to me. Although the announcement and stuff got me to meet Itachi again."

"What? You met him again? What happened? You have to tell me **everything**." Ino emphasized the word "everything".

"Only if you don't do the announcement thing again," said Sakura. Ino twitched and hung her head. "Just kidding, just kidding! Of course I'll tell you. You're my best friend!" Sakura leaned in to whisper something. "And plus, you seem pretty close to Itachi's little brother these days."

"Sasuke-kun and I are just really close friends, that's all. I hope we won't have to fight over him again, huh?" teased Ino.

"Ha ha, yeah." Suddenly the bell rang, marking the end of the lunch period. "Let's talk later, Ino. See ya!"

"Sure, later!" Ino and Sakura went to their own classes.

After school, Hinata caught up with Sakura. "S-Sakura! Wait!" Hinata panted when she reached Sakura.

"Hey, Hinata. What's up?" asked Sakura.

"W-Well, I was thinking o-of throwing a-a Christmas p-party," stammered Hinata.

"At the Hyuuga mansion? Cool! Are you gonna throw it on Christmas or on Christmas Eve?" asked Sakura.

"O-On Christmas. A-And, well…" Hinata motioned Sakura to lean in closer to her. Hinata whispered, "I-I'm also p-planning t-to give N-Naruto-kun a Christmas present I-I made m-myself." Hinata blushed furiously after saying that.

"Heh, Hinata, you must be head over heels for Naruto," teased Sakura.

"S-Sakura!" Hinata sharply whispered.

"Sorry, I just had to do that," apologized Sakura.

"I-I just wanted t-to ask you i-if you wanted t-to help me organize t-the party," said Hinata.

"I would love to!" exclaimed Sakura.

"I-If you don't mind, c-can you please k-keep the party a-a secret f-from the others? I-I would l-like the invitations t-to be a surprise," stammered Hinata.

"No problem!" said Sakura.

"O-Okay. S-So, c-can you c-come to my house n-now?" asked Hinata.

"Hm, I guess so. Sure, I guess it won't hurt," replied Sakura.

"W-Will you parents b-be okay with t-that?" asked Hinata, concerned.

"Don't worry. My parents are okay with me going over to my girlfriends' places!" answered Sakura. "Are we just going to walk to your house?"

"Y-Yeah. That's what I-I always do," replied Hinata. The two girls chatted as they walked to the Hyuuga mansion.

When they arrived at the mansion, Sakura's jaw literally dropped to the ground. "H-Hinata. Your place is huge! It's humongous! Gigantic!" Sakura kept throwing synonyms for the word "huge".

"Oh, t-thank you S-Sakura. I g-get that a lot," said Hinata.

When Sakura entered the mansion, she immediately spotted a huge courtyard. Her eyes widened when she saw who were in the courtyard. There were arrows everywhere. TenTen was staying still, holding the bow and arrow. Neji sighed and went behind her. He adjusted TenTen's wrists and hands to the perfect position. Once Neji gave the okay to TenTen, she released the arrow, and it hit the bullseye.

"So, S-Sakura, my room i-is, um, S-Sakura?" Hinata looked around for her friend. She spotted her walking towards the courtyard.

"Keep your posture TenTen," Neji chastised.

"Yeah, sorry," apologized TenTen. The brunette was still blushing from the contact between her and Neji earlier.

"Hey, Tennie, Neji!" chirped Sakura.

"Huh, Sakura? What're you doing here?" asked TenTen.

"Hinata invited me over. And…what about you?" asked Sakura. TenTen started to answer but Sakura interrupted, "I know, I know, archery. You seemed to enjoy Neji's touch earlier though." TenTen hit Sakura forcefully on her back. The brunette was clearly pissed, but embarrassed as well.

"I am telling you we're not going out!" hissed TenTen.

"But it did seem like you enjoyed him being near you," whispered Sakura.

"Sakura…" TenTen growled.

"Okay, okay, fine. I'll just leave you two lovebirds alone," said Sakura. The pinkette ran as fast as she could towards Hinata, barely missing an arrow TenTen shot.

"Y-You shouldn't try t-to get on T-TenTen's bad s-side," suggested Hinata.

"Yeah, I'll try not to," wheezed Sakura.

"H-Here's my room," said Hinata, sliding the door open.

"Woah, your room's huge!" exclaimed Sakura.

"T-Thank you. S-So, w-who should we invite?" asked Hinata.

"Let's write this down," suggested Sakura. Hinata tore out a piece of paper from her notebook and whipped out a pen from her school bag. Sakura continued, "Alright, so, TenTen and Temari, for sure, right?" Hinata nodded. "I want to invite Ino too. Do you think the others will be okay with that?"

Hinata replied, "If s-she doesn't do a-anything that will a-anger them, I-I hope it'll b-be okay."

Sakura nodded and continued, "Kiba, Shino, Neji, of course, Naruto…" At this point Sakura coughed slightly. "Sasuke, Shikamaru, Choji, and Lee?" Sakura was a little unsure if they should invite Lee, but Hinata wrote his name down anyway. "Hey, Hinata," Sakura started to say.

Hinata replied, "Y-Yeah?"

"Do you think it's okay if we invited Temari's siblings too?" asked Sakura.

"G-Gaara a-and Kankuro? I-If they're willing t-to come," answered Hinata.

"Cool! Let's add them to the list." Hinata wrote their names down as well.

"O-Okay. This is good. I-I don't want t-too many people i-in the mansion. M-My father w-wouldn't like it e-either," explained Hinata.

"Hm, alright then. We'll have to continue our organization, won't we? Let's see, the 25th… it's a Friday. Perfect, huh?" asked Sakura.

"Y-Yeah," answered Hinata.

"We have a lotta time left. We do need to set up the rooms and food and music and stuff though," said Sakura.

"U-Uh huh. L-Let's continue, Sakura," said Hinata.

"Okay," replied Sakura. They had exactly a week before the party to organize the whole thing. Tomorrow was a Saturday, and Sakura was sure that she could sleepover at Hinata's house on a Saturday.

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**So… I finally finished this chapter! I'm planning on writing about Itachi and Sakura's date someday in the next week; the week of the party. We have some NaruHina and NejiTen fluff, hm? ;) Please review, guys! They keep me writing! Please leave any thoughts, comments, questions, or indications of errors in my story, in a review! Have a nice day! **


	9. A Non Private Date

**Wow, I updated! Sorry for making you all wait for sooooo long! I've been so busy with school these days! At least now, I've brought the newest chapter for you all to enjoy! Please review after reading!**

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**A Non-Private Date**

Sakura and Hinata spent a lot of time planning the party and making the invitations. Saturday flew by quickly, and soon it was Sunday: the day of Sakura and Itachi's date.

"Hinata, what do you think about this?" asked Sakura, as she twirled once in her casual date clothes. She was wearing jeans, a black v-neck wool sweater with a brown belt wrapped around her waist, and ankle boots. She let her long, pink hair down, and had on her trademark red headband. (AN: It's not the one Ino gave her. She returned that one to her.)

"T-They look great o-on you, Sakura. G-Good luck on y-your date," said Hinata.

Sakura grabbed her purse, said good-bye to Hinata, and walked out of the young Hyuuga's room. On the way out, she saw TenTen practicing with Neji, again, early in the morning.

"Hey, TenTen, how're things going with you two?" teased Sakura.

"Sakura!" yelled TenTen. Neji kept his composure and sighed.

"Focus, TenTen," chastised Neji in his calm voice. TenTen lightly blushed when she heard his voice and tried to get her mind back on her training. Sakura giggled and rushed out of the mansion, only to see Itachi there.

"Itachi, how did you know I was here?" asked a surprised Sakura.

"You were the one who called me in the middle of the night to tell me you were sleeping over at your Hyuuga friend's house," replied Itachi.

Recollecting the memory, Sakura lightly laughed at herself. "I remember now. Sorry about that. You must've been sleep deprived," apologized Sakura.

"Don't worry about it. I've gone through worse in college," replied Itachi.

"So, should we go?" asked Sakura.

"Of course," said Itachi. He offered Sakura his hand and she gladly took it. While the pinkette was off in her own little world, she didn't notice a certain younger Uchiha in the bushes, spying on her and Itachi.

"What in the world are you doing here, Uchiha?" asked a cold and stoic voice. Sasuke jumped and turned around, to see Neji and TenTen standing there.

"You're not thinking of crashing Sakura and Itachi's date, are you? Because if you are, you'd better brace yourself for the thrashing of a lifetime," threatened TenTen, cracking her knuckles.

Sasuke sighed and replied, "I'm not thinking of doing that. Don't let your fantasies run wild, tomboy."

TenTen twitched with anger for a while, but kept her composure. "Just don't do anything to ruin their date, okay?"

Sasuke didn't say anything else. He simply got up and walked away. "I really hope he's not going to do anything stupid," said TenTen.

"Just ignore that idiot. Let's get back to practice," suggested Neji. He grabbed TenTen's hand and dragged her back to the compound.

* * *

"_Sheesh, it's not like I'm jealous or anything. Why should I ruin my brother's first date back?"_ thought Sasuke. He walked and walked, but had no idea where he was walking. Suddenly, he found himself in a park, the same park where he and Ino had their little talk. He found himself sitting on the same park bench he sat after he stormed out of his mansion. _"I feel better when Ino's around these days. I wonder why. Ino's a good friend, but the way her presence calms me isn't the same way as when I'm around Sakura. I can't believe I'm letting my feelings get the best of me,"_ thought Sasuke.

"Sasuke-kun? What a nice surprise! I didn't expect to see you here," said a happy-go-lucky voice.

Without turning to face the person, Sasuke said, "Ino, what're you doing here?"

"I love this park. Plus, there are some beautiful flowers here that I can get. The kids who play here are really cheerful as well," replied Ino.

"Hn, you seem like a completely different person. It wasn't long ago that you and Karin were plotting Sakura's doom," reminded Sasuke.

"I really, really, really feel guilty about it, Sasuke-kun. When I saw the photo of me and Sakura when we were young, I felt like the ice around my heart had melted away. I really had no idea why I hung out with Karin when I first came to this school," said Ino.

"_I never understand girls,"_ Sasuke thought.

"So, Sasuke-kun, what brings you here?" asked Ino, sitting beside Sasuke.

"Nothing. My feet just brought me here," said Sasuke, emotionlessly.

"Problems with my ex-friend, Sakura?" asked Ino.

Sasuke sighed and replied, "I don't know. Today's my brother's date with Sakura. I don't know why but I have the urge to follow them."

"Now that you mention it, I'm starting to get curious about those two. What do you say we go on our own little 'date' and follow them?" asked Ino. She added as an after-thought, _"Then I kill two birds with one stone. I get a date with Sasuke-kun, and get to know more about Sakura and Itachi's relationship." _

"It would be an invasion of privacy if we spy on them," said Sasuke.

"Sasuke-kun, if we go on our own date, and go to the places they are, it won't really be 'spying'. Please, Sasuke-kun?" pleaded Ino, clasping her hands.

"Hn, fine, fine," Sasuke said, giving up.

"Thank you, Sasuke-kun! Let's find them first. I think I know where they're going to be," Ino thought out loud.

"Hn, how would you know that?" asked Sasuke.

"Sakura and I used to be really close when we were young, and I know almost everything about her. Her likes, dislikes, her favorite places to be, and what-not. My first guess is the ice-cream place she loves so much," analyzed Ino.

"She would eat ice-cream this early?" asked Sasuke.

"It's Sakura. She loves that ice-cream. I'm sure she's already there with Itachi," replied Ino.

"Hn, fine. Let's just go and get it over with," said Sasuke.

* * *

"I can't believe you still remember that I love this place!" squealed Sakura, when her ice-cream arrived. She dug in immediately.

"How could I forget? You used to drag me here almost all the time," said Itachi. After a while, Sasuke and Ino arrived.

"See? I told you she would be here," said Ino. The two of them took a seat far away from Sakura and Itachi. It didn't stop the Sakura and Itachi from spotting them, though.

"_Sasuke's here with Ino? My ex-best friend Ino? What's this anger I feel? I'm happy with Itachi. Stop looking at them, girl!"_ Sakura mentally slapped herself and continued eating her ice-cream and chatting with Itachi. Sakura laughed and talked, and had a great time, or rather, she was trying to make it seem like it.

"_Argh, why did those two have to show up at a time like this? They look like __**they're**__ on a date too,"_ thought Sakura.

"_**You're jealous, aren't you?"**_taunted Inner Sakura.

"_I am __**not**__ jealous! Shut up!"_ retorted Sakura.

"_**Face it, girl. You just think you're in love with Itachi. You don't see the one person who cared for you when you first came to this school, and the one person you had a crush on when you were young," **_said Inner Sakura.

"_I was a kid back then! It was a shallow crush! It's __**Itachi**__ who I really like,"_ replied Sakura.

"_**Is it? Then why do you feel hurt and betrayed when you see Sasuke with Ino?"**_ asked Inner Sakura.

"_I don't feel that way!"_ denied Sakura. He little debate with her inner self continued until Itachi snapped her out of her trance.

"Sakura, I've paid for everything. Let's go. We'd better leave my little brother and his friend be," suggested Itachi.

"Of course. Where are we going next, Itachi?" asked Sakura.

"You'll see," replied the older Uchiha.

"Sasuke-kun, they're leaving. Let's follow them," said Ino.

"Hn, okay," replied Sasuke. Sasuke paid for their ice-cream and the two of them headed out.

* * *

"Wow, the amusement park! I loved riding the carousel when I was little," gushed Sakura.

"If you remember, you also used to drag me to the roller coasters," reminded Itachi.

Sakura laughed and replied, "Of course I remember. What do you say we go on the roller coasters now?"

"I don't mind. I hope your stomach's as strong as it was when we first came here," said Itachi.

"It's much stronger, believe me," replied Sakura. The duo walked to the roller coasters to have a rough ride. Ino and Sasuke were right behind them.

"Hey, are you sure you can handle it this time?" asked Sasuke.

"No problem. I'll try my best!" said a cheerful Ino.

Ino made sure that her and Sasuke were seated far from Sakura and Itachi. During the whole ride, Ino screamed her head off while Sasuke sat emotionlessly. Sakura was laughing like crazy and Itachi sat, just like Sasuke, but he was smiling slightly.

"Riding the coasters was epic! Itachi, let's go somewhere else!" said Sakura, dragging Itachi by the shirt sleeve. Sasuke got off the coasters and helped a very dizzy Ino out. The poor girl was barely able to stand. Sasuke draped one of her arms around his shoulders, put his hand around her waist and helped her walk .

"Sasuke-kun, where are they going next?" asked Ino, faintly.

"It looks like they're heading for the booths. Itachi's shooting something," replied Sasuke.

"Okay, let's go there then!" said Ino.

* * *

"Thanks for the gift, Itachi! It's so cute," squealed Sakura, hugging the fluffy teddy-bear Itachi won for her.

"You're welcome," replied Itachi. Sasuke and Ino sneakily followed them. Ino had gotten over her dizziness and is back on track.

"Hey little man, want to try your luck and win your lady friend a prize?" a stall-keeper asked.

Ino eyed the cute stuffed toys and begged Sasuke to get something for her. Sasuke sighed and said he would like to try. He was handed a gun and started shooting. The gun handling skills must run in the genes for the Uchiha family, since Sasuke won something for Ino as well.

"Thank you, Sasuke-kun!" squealed Ino as she hugged her stuffed dog tightly.

"Hn, you're welcome. Where did they go?" asked Sasuke, looking around.

"Oh, they're right there!" pointed out Ino. Sakura and Itachi were heading off to the Ferris Wheel.

"Is this me, or does this look like a replay of what you and I did in this amusement park?" asked Sasuke.

"It's exactly like a replay. Come on, let's catch up to them!" Ino grabbed his hand and dashed off towards the Ferris Wheel.

Once Sakura and Itachi were seated, Ino and Sasuke got in. Once the ride started, Ino and Sasuke tried to look up at the section where Itachi and Sakura were.

"Why are those two following us?" asked Sakura once they were in once section.

"My little brother does seem to like you a lot," pointed out Itachi.

"Oh, please. Sasuke doesn't like me at all," denied Sakura.

"Oh? It seems like he's jealous to me," said Itachi.

"Sasuke doesn't look like the type of person who's jealous of someone," replied Sakura.

"He doesn't seem like that type of person, but I'm sure he's jealous," said Itachi.

"Oh well, I don't really care what Sasuke thinks," said Sakura.

"_**So not true, girl!"**_retorted her Inner.

"_Will you leave me be?!"_ Sakura mentally shouted back.

* * *

"Sasuke-kun, you really like Sakura, don't you?" asked Ino.

"Hn, why do you say that?" asked Sasuke.

"You show it a lot. I'm guessing the reason you looked so down was because of their date," replied Ino.

"I don't care what she does," retorted Sasuke.

"Yes you do. Sasuke, I'm telling you, you may have a chance with Sakura," encouraged Ino.

"Again, why do you say that? She's with my brother. He's a much more experienced person than I am," said Sasuke.

"You keep undermining yourself, Sasuke-kun. Don't you remember her when she was little? Sakura and I met you once. Don't you remember us?" asked Ino.

"I remember now. When I first saw her, I didn't. She looked different with long hair," replied Sasuke.

"Well, there's barely any people with pink hair. When I came to this school, you pretended not to know me too," said Ino.

"Hn, like I said, I didn't recognize you at first too. Later, I remembered. It was also like that with Sakura," explained Sasuke.

"You never treated me the way you treated her when she arrived," whispered Ino.

Sasuke heard what she said and replied, "That was because Karin rubbed off on you. You were pleasant when you first came, but then you became friends with that red-head, and you changed drastically."

"I thought I would have a good friendship with her. She also likes you a lot. Plus, her red hair reminded me a little of Sakura's pink hair, and Sakura used to wear glasses, so, she reminded me a lot of her. Her personality didn't, though," rambled Ino.

"What I don't understand is why she won't give up trying to ruin Sakura's life," wondered Sasuke.

"She's jealous! Now she's really pissed at me too, since she found out I was spending time with you," explained Ino.

"They're getting off," stated Sasuke.

"Then let's get off too," suggested Ino.

The two pairs had lunch, then headed off again. Sakura and Itachi went from place to place, and when it was about 3, their date ended. Sakura and Itachi were walking on a long bridge, over a lake, chatting. Sasuke and Ino were in a tree, spying on them.

"Sasuke-kun, remind me again why we're in a tree?" asked Ino.

"I'm sure they've figured out that we're following them, so I thought we should hide for a while," replied Sasuke.

Itachi and Sakura stopped walking and faced each other. Sasuke and Ino tried to get a better view of them. Itachi and Sakura's faces were getting closer…. and closer…until…BAM! Ino pushed Sasuke off the tree.

"What the… Sasuke!" shouted Sakura.

"Hello, little brother," greeted Itachi, calmly.

"_Ouch. Why in the world did Ino push me off?!_" Sasuke thought, angrily.

"Why were you following us the whole day?" asked Sakura.

"Hn, I wasn't following you," lied Sasuke.

"Don't lie to me, Sasuke. You were spying on us, weren't you?" demanded Sakura.

"Is going on a date with Ino and coincidentally going to the same places as you and my brother a crime?" asked Sasuke, coolly.

Sakura's face turned red from anger and from jealousy, perhaps? _"What's wrong with me?"_ Sakura mentally asked herself.

"_**Like I said, jealous!"**_taunted Inner Sakura.

This time, Sakura ignored her inner. She shook her head to clear her mind. Once she got her composure back, she sighed and said, "So where's Ino?"

"I'm right here," replied Ino, walking towards them. Somehow she managed to get out of the tree quickly.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" asked Sakura.

"Sure," replied Ino. The two girls walked off somewhere to have their little conversation.

"Are you and Sasuke-kun really dating now?" asked Sakura.

"Well, do you care?" Ino asked back.

"N-No. No I don't," stammered Sakura.

"From that stammering, I'd say that you do," said Ino.

"No I don't! I like Itachi, okay?" replied Sakura.

"How did you switch so quickly from liking Sasuke-kun to like Itachi?" asked Ino.

"That's…." Sakura paused.

Ino sighed and continued, "What you're experiencing with Itachi isn't love, Sakura. Maybe you did love him when you were going out, before that little incident, but now, I don't see love."

Sakura was very confused now. She decided to change the subject quickly. "Ino, do you still have the picture of us when we were little?"

Ino thought back to the picture that was taken out of her album. _Karin_ was her first thought. She quickly replied, "Of course I do. We were so close."

"Well, Hinata showed you that picture, didn't she?" asked Sakura.

"How did you know Hinata…" Ino trailed off, and then realization hit her.

"Yes, I was the one who put the picture in her locker," admitted Sakura.

"You didn't need to steal it from my album, y'know," said Ino. "You also could've put it in my locker instead of hers."

"I didn't want it to seem so obvious that it was me. I didn't recognize you when I first came here, but as time passed, I started to see that you were my best friend, or rather, ex-best friend," explained Sakura.

"Cut out the 'ex' part, Sakura. I don't want you to think we're not close friends anymore," said Ino.

Sakura laughed and said, "Okay. So, do we understand each other now?"

"Of course. Best friends?" Ino offered her hand to Sakura.

The pinkette took her hand and shook on it. "Best friends," she promised.

* * *

**Yay, I updated! I was actually out of ideas for this chapter, and I have no idea what happens on dates, since I haven't been on one… (I can't date until I graduate… -_-") I tried my best to write out this chapter, though, and I hope you guys enjoyed it. Like I said, I'm aiming for 100 reviews for this one too, so please, please, please review, review, review!!**

**~Sakura Uchiha Hyuuga no Sabaku **


	10. Hunt For Dates

**I am finally done with my freshman year! Now that it's the holidays, I may have some more time to update. I am so happy with my GPA for the last quarter! I surpassed two guys in my class that I can never (kind of) catch up to. =D I'm also watching One Tree Hill, so it may also take up a lot of my time. I may be watching One Tree Hill instead of updating, so don't be too surprised if I don't update a lot. That TV show is really good! Oh well, here's my next chapter for all of you! Thank you to those people who reviewed. =)**

**

* * *

****Hunt for Dates **

"So, how was your date, Sakura?" asked TenTen, idly twirling a shuriken on her index finger.

"It was fun. I never knew Sasuke and Ino were dating. When he fell from a tree I was shocked," answered Sakura.

"Um, fell from a tree? Doesn't that seem more like a failure in spying on your date?" said TenTen.

"Well, I'm not sure. He did say he was on a date with Ino," answered Sakura.

"Yeah, but going on a 'date' doesn't mean climbing a tree," argued TenTen. She put her shuriken in her locker and sighed. _"I knew that idiot was up to something. Is Sakura dense or what? The guy was obviously spying on her,"_ the tomboy thought.

As the girls got ready to go to their second class, the intercom screeched and an announcement was made, "Good morning teens! As most of you know, the annual Snowflake Ball is coming up, and it will be on Christmas Eve, which is on Thursday. So, haul your butts to the shopping malls and get some stunning dresses! Thank you."

Sakura and TenTen went to their own classes, and the rest of the morning passed normally. At lunch, Sakura immediately asked about the upcoming dance.

"The Snowflake Ball is just this dance where all the girls coming have to wear white, and it's the guys who always ask the girls to the dance," explained Temari. "By the way, why is **she**," Temari pointed to Ino, who was sipping her Diet Coke, "sitting here?"

"Oh, I invited her to sit here. She looked lonely, sitting by herself," answered Sakura.

"Hey, Sasuke-kun was there too, alright? I did **not **look lonely," defended Ino.

"Okay, okay. No need to get all defensive," muttered Temari.

"O-Oh, I almost f-forgot. Um, guys, um, Sakura and I p-planned a party, a-and it's going to be at the Hyuuga e-estate. So, um, I would be r-really glad i-if you guys could c-come," stuttered Hinata, fanning out the invites.

"Cool, I can come!" answered TenTen. She opened the envelope and read the card inside. "December 25th, just a day after the Snowflake Ball. Looks like our schedules are packed."

"I should tell you guys that I gave Itachi the invite when he walked me home," confessed Sakura. All the girls at the table, except for Hinata, looked at Sakura like she had gone nuts.

The rosette shrugged and said, "What? I'm thinking of getting back together with him." At this point, Temari banged her head against the table. Sakura got confused and asked, "Is that not a good idea? The date he took me on was really fun, and…" Sakura was interrupted by Temari.

"I still don't trust the guy. Once a player, always a player. It's very unlikely that people can change for the better," explained Temari.

"Why do you sound so sure?" questioned Sakura.

"Please, Sakura, Temari's a senior. I think she's gone through a lot more than we have," said TenTen.

"Okay, fine. I'll take your advice and let our 'friendship' relationship draw out," said Sakura.

"Just don't let him hurt you again. In other words, **don't **fall for him again," warned Temari.

"If I say it's too late for that?" asked Sakura.

"Then, I'm sorry. I know it's not too late yet, Sakura. Just be careful, okay? I don't want players to hurt one of my friends," said Temari.

Sakura nodded and said, "Sure Temari. I'll be extra careful. Thanks for your concern."

"Okay, so what do you say we all go shopping tomorrow? You all can come to my house after school on Thursday, and we can all help each other look pretty for the dance," suggested Ino.

"Thanks for changing the subject," whispered Sakura. "I felt chocked talking about my relationship with Itachi."

"You're welcome, girl. I do agree with Temari on being careful though," whispered Ino. Sakura rolled her eyes, but nodded slightly, nonetheless. Suddenly the girls could hear rumbling; like the sound of a stampede. Before they knew it, boys had crowded around their table.

"Ino-chan, please go to the dance with me," pleaded one guy.

"No, go with me," argued another guy.

The pattern went on, Temari and TenTen were getting irritated, Hinata was getting anxious, and Sakura was stunned. _"Ino hasn't even done anything and something like a thousand guys are crowding around her, asking her out! Incredible, Ino! I admit, she has become really pretty. I'll never catch up to her. Even now, after I've grown my hair, it's still shorter and less silky than Ino's,"_ thought Sakura.

Before Temari and TenTen started to stand up to chase the guys away, Ino held up one of her hands, glared at all the boys, and said, "Okay, I am **not** going to the Snowflake Ball with **any** of you. You're all disrupting my lunchtime and I don't know any of you. So I suggest you all find another girl to take."

After the boys left, disappointed, Temari and TenTen each gave Ino a high-five while Sakura and Hinata gave her a thumbs-up. The girls kept chatting and eating until the bell rang. Temari walked, casually, to her Calculus class. The other four girls couldn't help but watch Shikamaru try to make small talk with Temari while walking with her.

"Shikamaru wants Temari to go to the dance with him," declared Ino.

"How can you be so sure?" asked TenTen.

"Shikamaru and I have known each other since we were born. I know him better than a lot of girls," answered Ino.

"It's possible that he's just trying to be friendly," said Sakura.

"Maybe, but Shikamaru doesn't usually do that with girls. He's usually out on the courtyard watching clouds, and doesn't even care if he's late or not. He usually doesn't attempt to talk to girls. Not to mention he sneaks some talk about Temari while we're having a conversation," rambled Ino.

"So normally Shikamaru wouldn't try to talk with any girl? He talks to us," said TenTen.

"That's because we all know him well. It looks like Shikamaru and Temari know each other really well, but in fact, they haven't talked much," explained Ino.

"Those two have Calculus together, don't they?" asked Sakura.

"Yeah they do, which means Shikamaru has a perfect chance to talk to Temari there. I don't know if he'll do it. If he doesn't do it soon, some other boy's going to take Temari," said Ino.

"I-I'm going to class now, s-so, bye guys!" Then Hinata ran away, full speed. The remaining girls had confused looks on their faces, until Naruto and Sasuke showed up.

"Why was Hinata so eager to get to class?" asked a clueless Naruto. The three girls sighed simultaneously. The blond boy cocked his head and asked, "What? Did I say something wrong?"

"_You brainless idiot! Can't you see that Hinata has an enormous crush on you?" _was what Ino wanted to say out loud.

"I hate to ruin the mood, but we do have to get to class," interrupted Sasuke.

"Uh, yeah, of course. I'm off guys!" Ino waved to her friends and ran to her next class. Sasuke walked slowly, but in the process, looked at Sakura. She, in turn, returned his gaze. Their eyes met and time froze for a while, for both of them. It wasn't until TenTen and Naruto dragged the Sakura and Sasuke to their next classes that they seemed to snap back to reality.

Sakura mentally slapped herself. _"What is wrong with me? I'm the worst girl ever!"_

After School 

Shikamaru looked like he was at peace, watching the clouds in the courtyard, but his mind was a total mess.

"_Should I or should I not ask her to the dance?"_ Shikamaru pondered. The question lingered in his head for the whole day. Temari was even surprised that Shikamaru was acting to chatty after lunch. A shadow looming over him interrupted his thoughts.

"Hey Shikamaru, did you do it?" asked a young blond boy. He sat down beside Shikamaru.

"No. I don't know why," Shikamaru replied.

"Why what?" asked Naruto, being the dense boy he is.

"Why he couldn't ask her, you dumb blond," Sasuke answered for Shikamaru.

"What are you doing here, Sasuke?" asked Naruto, acting surprised.

"Idiot, you were the one who asked me to come along," huffed Sasuke. The Uchiha was definitely irritated by his best friend.

"Whatever, Sasuke. So, Shikamaru, if you don't ask her soon, she'll be taken, y'know. Are you willing to let that happen?" asked Naruto, going into his "serious" mood now.

"I don't know, Naruto. At first, it seemed troublesome to go to the dance, but your constant persuasions got very annoying, so I agreed to go through with it! Now, I need to finish what I started. Geez, you're irritating," mumbled Shikamaru. Naruto twitched, but stayed calm, unlike his other disputes with Sasuke.

"Anyway, Shikamaru, I know you can do it! You just need a little motivation. I know! Why don't we ask two of the girls out first, then you can do it?" suggested Naruto. Sasuke glared at Naruto for suggesting an idea like that, but Shikamaru ginned.

"_This can not be good,"_ thought Sasuke.

"Sure, why don't you do it first? If it's successful, then I'll ask Temari. You have to make sure you do it tomorrow, though," said Shikamaru.

"Okay, right after we do it, you go up to Temari and ask her. Deal?" asked Naruto, extending his hand for a handshake.

Shikamaru took Naruto's hand and shook it. "Deal" Sasuke slapped his forehead.

"_That idiotic blond… What have we gotten ourselves into? I never wanted to go to that stupid thing in the first place!"_ thought Sasuke, angrily.

"Alright! I think I already know who I'm going to ask. Sakura-chan's new, but we became friends pretty quickly, so, yeah, Sakura-chan it is," Naruto thought out loud. Sasuke's face changed when Naruto said he was going to ask Sakura. Then, he mentally slapped himself for being slightly mad at Naruto.

"_Sorry, Naruto, but I'll be asking Sakura. The tomboy Chinese girl will not only turn me down, but also beat me up, and the Hyuuga's got a huge crush on Naruto. Yamana—Ino's nice, but no. That leaves Sakura,"_ Sasuke thought of how he could get to Sakura first. His lips twitched into a grin and thought, _"I can get her number from Itachi."_ Then, he saw the flaw in his plan. _"How am I supposed to bring up her number without telling my brother about the dance? He's probably heard about it anyway, so, what's the deal?"_ Sasuke decided to go through with it.

"See ya, Shikamaru, I'm going home!" Naruto waved good-bye, then ran home. Sasuke just nodded to Shikamaru and walked away. That left Shikamaru alone. He thought of a way to properly ask Temari, a senior, to go with him, a sophomore. He got up and thought about it all the way home.

The Uchiha Mansion

"I'm back," Sasuke shouted. Once he entered his mansion, he was hugged by his mother.

"Sasuke-kun, how was your day?" Mikoto asked.

"Mother, please don't do this to me every time I get back from school," mumbled Sasuke. He really doesn't want to be seen by his friends like this.

"First Itachi, now you. You all grow up so fast," said Mikoto. She ran back to the kitchen after greeting her son. Sasuke sighed and walked upstairs to his room. He stopped by Itachi's room first, though.

"Itachi, you there?" asked Sasuke, peeking in his brother's room. Itachi was sitting on his bed, reading a novel. He glanced up at his younger brother, closed the book, and paid full attention to Sasuke. The younger Uchiha took a breath and requested, "I would like to know Sakura's phone number."

Itachi raised an eyebrow, and taunted, "Oh? So you do like her after all."

Sasuke could feel the heat rush up to his face already. He tried to shake it off. "No. I just need to ask her something."

Itachi kept on taunting Sasuke, "About your relationship, or ours?" Sasuke was becoming impatient now.

"No, Itachi. I just want to ask her to the Snowflake Ball!" the younger Uchiha snapped. Itachi was intrigued by his brother's actions now.

"From what I've heard, the Snowflake Ball is on Thursday. Why are you in such a rush, little brother?" asked Itachi, knowing it would irritate Sasuke.

"Just because, alright?" replied Sasuke.

"Or is it because you don't want anyone else to take her?" Itachi taunted again. Sasuke was twitching with anger, but also slightly blushing.

"Itachi…" Sasuke muttered impatiently.

"Hn, I'll let you take her for this event, little brother. You'll need the time to get close to her," said Itachi, slightly grinning. He tossed Sasuke his cell phone. The younger boy searched for Sakura's name, marked her number in his own cell, and then tossed Itachi's cell back to him.

"Thanks Itachi," mumbled Sasuke. He walked out of his brother's room, closing the door behind him. Itachi was enjoying himself, taunting his little brother like that.

"_You'll need the time, Sasuke. Use it while you can,"_ thought Itachi.

"Geez, Itachi enjoys messing with people," mumbled Sasuke, as he walked back to his room.

Sasuke immediately showered and changed his clothes to something more comfortable. He searched for Sakura's number in his cell phone and hit the call button. He could hear the dialing, and waited for her to pick up.

Ringing once… no one picked up

Ringing twice… still, no one's picked up.

Ringing thrice… no one is picking up.

On the fourth ring, a feminine voice answered, "Hello?"

Sasuke caught his breath. Her voice stopped him from asking her the question. Sakura kept saying "hello", so Sasuke had to regain his voice. "It's me," was all Sasuke could muster.

"Wait, Sasuke? How did you get my number?" asked Sakura.

"My brother gave it to me," replied Sasuke.

"Oh, okay. So, what's up?" asked Sakura.

"I'll get straight to the point, okay? Do you have a date for the Snowflake Ball?" Sasuke could already feel the heat rushing to his cheeks. _"God, what's wrong with me? I always feel like I need to get her back from Itachi, whenever. Maybe it's because he always gets what he wants, and I don't."_ Sasuke thought.

"Sasuke? Sasuke? Hello?" Sakura's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Hn?" replied Sasuke.  
"I said I don't. Although Lee did ask me, but… I said no. He's sweet and all, but I don't really know him that much yet," explained Sakura. Like he's talked to her much before anyway.

"Okay, so, if you don't, do you want to…" Sasuke tried to finish his sentence, but found it hard to. _"Now I see why Shikamaru wanted out,"_ thought the Uchiha.

"To go with you?" asked Sakura.

Sasuke nodded slightly and replied slowly, "Yes."

"Okay, sure, no p-problem. I can go with y-you," answered Sakura Something that caught Sasuke's interest was that she was stuttering. **Stuttering.** Maybe Itachi should watch out, himself.

"Thanks, Sakura. I'll come and pick you up on Thursday," said Sasuke. Sasuke grinned smugly. He got to Sakura first. _"Sorry Naruto, but you're going to have to ask the Hyuuga girl. That girl's dying to go with you anyway,"_ Sasuke said mentally.

"Sure. Then, bye Sasuke!" Sakura quickly said her last words and hung up before Sasuke could say good-bye. The young Uchiha snapped his cell phone shut and kept grinning. He got Sakura to go with him without even trying.

"_This should get interesting,"_ thought Sasuke. He ran downstairs for dinner afterwards.

* * *

**I'm done with a chapter! Whoo! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Next chapter, I'll be writing about how the guys asked their girls to the dance. Please review! They keep me motivated, and maybe I'll update faster. =) Please, please, please review! Look out for the next chapter! **


	11. Still on the Hunt

**Oh… my… freaking…God! I haven't updated in a year! O_o… I surprise myself. I have been caught up in my own little life that I totally forgot about my stories! . God… Well, at least I'm back now. This comment has nothing to do with the story but… MUN is a total pain in the butt. -_-' Seriously, writing resolutions and position papers are such a pain! Anyway, on with the story. **

* * *

**Still on the Hunt**

"Sakura-chan has a date! I can't believe Sakura-chan already has a date!" complained Naruto. The other boys, Sasuke, Neji, and Shikamaru all stared at him.

"So? Just ask another one of the girls out you dobe," said Sasuke.

"But I wanted to ask Sakura-chan," whined the blond.

"Just move on will you?" Shikamaru interrupted. "Ask Neji's cousin. I'm sure she'd want to go with you." After that comment, Shikamaru received a glare from Neji.

Naruto sniffed once and declared, "Alright, since Sakura-chan already has a date, I'll ask Hinata!" Naruto then looked at his buddies and asked, "Sasuke-teme, it was you who asked Sakura-chan wasn't it?"

Sasuke adverted Naruto's gaze and replied, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

The blond grinned slyly. "You totally did. I know you, teme. You always deny what you really did or what you really feel. You did ask Sakura-chan!"

A vein popped in Sasuke's head. He retorted, "Okay, it was me. I asked her okay? Now would you please fulfill your end of the deal and ask the Hyuuga girl? Shikamaru needs some more motivation."

Naruto nodded and ran off to find Hinata. Neji stepped up and asked, "Why are you all trying to get my cousin together with Naruto?"

"It's pretty obvious that she has a crush on him, isn't it?" replied Shikamaru. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go watch the clouds." With that, Shikamaru walked to the open courtyard.

"Hyuuga, aren't you going to ask any of the girls?" asked Sasuke.

"It's not your business, Uchiha," retorted Neji.

Sasuke shrugged and replied, "Hn, okay. Whatever." A while later, Sasuke and Neji walked off in separate directions as well.

* * *

"Did you say Sasuke-kun asked you to the dance?" asked a very surprised Ino.

Sakura nodded. "For some reason, I just couldn't say no! I mean, I planned on going with Itachi, but Sasuke just asked me out of the blue, and I just couldn't turn down the offer," blurted Sakura.

"Hold on, let me get this straight. You were planning on going with Itachi, but then before you had a chance to tell him about this, Sasuke-kun called you up and asked you. Taken by surprise, you said yes, even though you want to go with Itachi. You said yes to Sasuke-kun even though you don't want to go with him?" Ino semi-yelled.

"No no, it's not that I don't want to go with him. I do want to go with him. That's the problem! Is it wrong that I want to go to the dance with Sasuke as my partner?" asked Sakura.

"Well I definitely know now that you have a small crush on Sasuke… again," answered Ino.

"I do not have a crush on him! I like his brother!" retorted Sakura.

"Hey, deny it all you want, but it's not gonna do any good," advised Ino.

"Ugh, whatever, pig. Oh, have you gotten a partner yourself?" asked Sakura, changing the subject. Ino tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and giggled; Sakura's eyebrows rose in suspicion. The rosette's lips then curved upwards into a small smile. "So you do have a date for the dance. Come on, spill, who is it?"

Ino giggled again. "Hm, you'd have to see for yourself."

"Ino-pig! I'm your best friend. Tell me, at least," pleaded Sakura.

Ino laughed wholeheartedly. "Okay, okay, I'll tell you, but don't laugh, okay?"

"I won't," promised Sakura.

"Well, have you ever heard of Sai?" asked Ino.

Sakura closed her eyes and started recalling. "Sai…Sai…as a matter of fact, I think I've heard of him. So he's the one who's taking you to the dance?"

Ino nodded. "Yes! He reminds me so much of Sasuke-kun, except for the fact that he's always smiling. Plus, he compliments me a lot," sighed the love-struck blond.

"And you've met him for how many hours?" Sakura sarcastically asked.

"That doesn't matter, Billboard Brow! At least I'm happy with my choice," defended Ino.

Sakura shrugged. "Okay, whatever you say, Ino." The rosette noticed Hinata running up to her and Ino. Hinata's face looked bright- as if something marvelous happened to her. Her hair seemed to be shinier and silkier; the girl herself had a special aura surrounding her. When Hinata reached the two other girls, she put her hands on her thighs and bent over, to catch her breath. "Hey Hinata, what's the rush?" Sakura interrogated.

Hinata raised her head and, never wiping the smile off her face, answered, "Naruto-kun…Naruto-kun asked me to the dance!"

Both Sakura's and Ino's eyes widened. "What? He did? Oh, finally he sees the light!" huffed Ino. The blond then slung her right arm over Hinata's shoulders. "So, spill. How'd he ask you?" Ino further questioned.

Hinata, who was now playing with her fingers, replied shyly, "Well, it was like this…"

* * *

_Hinata was fishing out her Psychics book from her locker when suddenly, she was tackled by someone. The poor girl got a little dizzy from the impact, but when she saw who knocked her down, she almost fainted from blushing. _

"_Hey there, Hinata! Sorry for bumping into you like this," apologized Naruto as he put on his cheeky grin. The blond then got off of Hinata and helped her get up as well. The dark haired girl was so nervous that she could barely stand, or talk. _

"_N-N-Naruto-kun. U-Um, wh-what a pleasant s-surprise. D-Did you need something?" stammered Hinata. _

_Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Hinata, I know this is sudden, but…" Naruto dragged. He found himself blushing lightly and acting shy. Hinata hugged one of her textbooks tightly, anticipating Naruto's next words. "Well, will you be willing to be my date for the Snowflake Ball?" the blond finished. _

_Hinata's reaction went from blank staring, to her eyes widening, then to dropping her books. Naruto panicked. "Uh, it's okay if you don't want to. I mean, I'm not forcing you to go…" _

"_Naruto-kun," Hinata interrupted. She brought her hands to her lips as she said her crush's name. _

"_Uh, yeah, Hinata?" asked Naruto._

"_Naruto-kun, I thought you'd never ask," finished Hinata. After saying that, Hinata wobbled, and was about to faint. _

"_Oh no, don't faint on me this time, Hinata," said Naruto. Before the dark haired girl fell, Naruto supported her from behind. Hinata's eyes remained open the whole time. She looked up at Naruto and smiled beautifully. _

"_T-Thank you, Naruto-kun," said Hinata. Naruto helped her get up once again, and picked her books up from the floor as well. _

"_So, was that a yes?" asked Naruto._

_Hinata nodded slowly. "Y-Yes. I-It's a definite yes," she confirmed. _

_Naruto grinned widely and apologized for asking her out of the blue. He then ran off, leaving the dark haired Hyuuga to think back about the recent breakthrough, which also led her to run to her girlfriends and tell them everything. _

"A-And that's w-what happened," Hinata finished. Sakura and Ino stared at the dark haired Hyuuga, standing as still as statues. Hinata fidgeted and played with her fingers. "Wh-What's wrong, girls? Sh-Shouldn't I have said yes?"

"Hinata, that's great! We're so happy for you!" squealed Ino. The two girls squeezed the life out of Hinata with their hugs. The three girls laughed together, happy that Naruto finally had the sense to ask Hinata to go as his date.

"I'm glad y-you two feel h-happy for me," said Hinata when Sakura and Ino released her from their death hugs. "I-I'm sure both o-of you have d-dates already."

Ino's expression immediately switched to a dream-like state while Sakura turned her head to the side a little with a slightly perplexed expression. Hinata cocked her head to the side in slight confusion. Ino started, "Both of us do have dates, Hinata. I'm perfectly happy with mine." Ino then sighed dreamily.

Sakura cut in, "Ino, again, you barely know the guy."

Ino snapped out of her fantasies and replied, "Well, at least I don't have conflicting feelings over two boys."

Sakura stiffened at her comeback. Hinata looked back and forth between her two friends. "S-Sakura? What d-does Ino mean?"

Sakura sighed and started talking, "Well, like Ino said, I do have a date, but that person is Sasuke."

"I-I thought you weren't v-very fond o-of him," stammered Hinata.

"I-I don't know. I don't know what I even feel anymore," confessed Sakura.

"Sakura, forget about one of the brothers already!" advised Ino.

Hinata said, "Y-You're having conflicting f-feelings for S-Sasuke and I-Itachi?" Blushing lightly, Sakura nodded.

"I know it's wrong. It's very wrong to feel this way, but I can't help it. I don't know what to do anymore. I wanted to go to the dance with Itachi, but when Sasuke asked, I just couldn't say no," rambled Sakura.

Hinata patted Sakura's back. "S-Someday you'll figure it a-all out, Sakura. I-I know you will."

"Hinata's right. Oh, and of course, get over one of them! It's not good for your health," teased Ino, while earning a light punch from Sakura. "For now, let's just forget all about it and go on with our lives, hm?"

"I couldn't agree more with you, Ino-pig," said Sakura. The three girls then went off on their own, going to separate destinations.

* * *

Sakura idly walked about, thinking about Hinata's party as well as the Snowflake Ball. _"I wonder if TenTen or Temari have dates yet,"_ thought Sakura. Coincidentally, she spotted her senior, Temari walking to the open courtyard. Out of curiosity, Sakura followed Temari to the courtyard as well. The rosette skid to a stop and spied on her friend by hiding behind a pillar.

Temari, with his hands on her waist, loomed above Shikamaru, who was lying on his back. "Why'd you call me out here, Shikamaru?" Temari asked.

Shikamaru sat and jumped up. He then brushed off the dirt from his clothes and faced Temari. "Hey Temari. Glad you could make it," Shikamaru commented.

"Can you hurry up, Shikamaru? Break's about to end," said Temari while tapping her right foot impatiently.

Shikamaru then did something that Sakura didn't think a clam and reserved person like him was capable of doing- Shikamaru slightly lowered his head and started fidgeting. The surprise didn't end there. Not only did Shikamaru fidget, but when he talked, he started to stutter, just like Hinata. "Um, w-well, I-I was just thinking if you had a date for t-the Snowflake Ball yet," asked Shikamaru.

Temari raised her right eyebrow. "Where are you getting at, Shikamaru?"

"What I'm trying to say is, i-if you don't have a-a date yet, then would you l-like to go with me a-as my d-d-date?" stammered Shikamaru while blushing lightly.

Temari's eyes widened. Then she blinked once; twice. A smile slowly crept up on Temari's lips. "I'd love to go with you, lazy ass," answered Temari.

Shikamaru, who was holding his breath, finally released it. "Okay, now that that's over, I'm gonna go back to cloud watching," said Shikamaru. He then lied back down on his back and stared at the sky.

Temari loomed over him once again, blocking out the sunlight from Shikamaru's view. "Geez, you never change, do you, Shikamaru?" asked Temari with a smile. She then sat down beside Shikamaru and lied down as well.

Shikamaru turned his head to face Temari. "Aren't you going to class? You said it yourself- break's almost over."

"Nah, I'd rather relax here. Besides, I have study hall next, so it's no big deal," replied Temari.

"Okay, troublesome woman, whatever you say," sighed Shikamaru.

Meanwhile, the eavesdropper, Sakura was smiling ear to ear. _"Wow, that's so out of character for Shikamaru. Well, Temari has a date now too at least," _thought Sakura. _"That just leaves TenTen. Hm, I wonder who'll ask her. Neji probably will. I could sense the chemistry between the two of them when they were practicing together too." _

* * *

"TenTen." The brown haired girl turned around when she heard her name to see her archery partner, Neji, standing right in front of her.

"Hi, Neji. What's up?" TenTen smiled nervously and clutched her books tightly.

"We have to work on your archery. Come to my house today after school, our usual time. Don't be late," informed Neji.

TenTen's grip on her books loosened and her shoulders slumped a little. _"Damn, I was hoping he would ask me to the dance,"_ the Chinese girl complained mentally.

"TenTen, are you paying attention?" asked Neji.

Said girl jerked her head up and looked at Neji again. "Yeah, of course. Archery practice at your house today, 3 P.M sharp. Got it," repeated TenTen. Just as she was about to walk away, Neji put his hand on her shoulder to stop her. TenTen tensed up as soon as his hand touched her skin. She turned her head around. "Did you want something else, Neji?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact. TenTen, would you do me the honor of being my date for the Snowflake Ball?" Neji asked flawlessly, without a stutter.

TenTen sharply sucked in her breath and breathed out slowly. She regained her posture and replied, "I'd love to go with you, Neji."

Neji nodded once and released his grip on TenTen's shoulder. "I look forward to spending time with you at the dance." With that, Neji walked away, leaving TenTen awestruck.

After a while, TenTen heard footsteps behind her. She turned around to see Neji's cousin, Hinata. "U-Um, I-I didn't mean to e-eavesdrop, b-but I heard Neji nii-san a-ask you to the d-dance," confessed Hinata.

"I don't mind you hearing, Hinata. You're Neji's cousin after all," said TenTen.

"A-Are you glad that h-he asked?" Hinata inquired.

TenTen blushed lightly. "W-Well, I guess you could say that."

"You and Neji nii-san w-will make a v-very nice couple," complimented the young Hyuuga. Before TenTen could reply to that comment, Hinata turned and ran to her class. A few seconds later, TenTen shrugged and walked to her own class as well.

* * *

**Well, this chapter seems short… Not a lot of things happening, except a lot of asking out. I'll try to make the next chapter more…exciting. XD Stay tuned for chapter 12! Please review, review, review! If you guys have any comments or constructive criticism, please feel free to state them in your reviews. (PS: I haven't been writing for a long time, so forgive me if I'm getting rusty…) **


	12. Ambush

**Like I said in the last chapter, I'm gonna put a little more drama in this chapter. =3 I hope this chapter will satisfy a lot of people. **

**By the way… this fic has more than 100 reviews! Yay! I would like to thank all the people who reviewed for this story. Thanks everyone, for your support! I would also like to thank Hizashi Uchiha, who reviewed for every single chapter of this fic! =) I love you guys! Enjoy this chapter! **

* * *

**Ambush**

As Sakura lied in bed she played with her long hair and stared at the ceiling. The melodic chirps of crickets could be heard through her open window as well as the meows of serenading tomcats. The rosette rolled over on her side and sighed. _"The Snowflake Ball's coming up soon. I need to go shopping with the girls and get my mind off Sasuke for one minute! Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke… It's always Sasuke. Where'd Itachi go? What's wrong with my thought pattern now?" _

"_**I think it's better that you're thinking about Sasuke-kun more often. It's time you got a break from Itachi,"**_interrupted Sakura's inner personality.

"_Itachi is the person I love, not Sasuke, okay?" _Sakura outer self mentally quarreled.

"_**Love is blind. You never know when it'll strike, and when it does, you'll get the shock of your life,"**_lectured Sakura inner self.

"_When did you become so prophetic?"_ Sakura sarcastically asked herself. _"Besides, the only reason I hated Sasuke in the first place was because he resembled Itachi, and back then, Itachi dumped me for another girl. Now, we're good. Itachi and I are on good terms."_

"_**What makes you think he won't dump you again, outer me?"**_Inner Sakura questioned.

"_Itachi told me the reason he left me, okay? It was because he had to,"_ Sakura retorted.

Inner Sakura snickered. _**"What makes you think that has changed? What if he's back now for just a fling? If his dad forced the girl on him, what makes you think that girl's not in his life anymore?"**_

Those string of questions led Sakura thinking. _"You're right. I can't believe I'm actually agreeing with you, but now that I think of it, it's possible. Oh boy, Temari was right after all. What if you and Temari are right? What do I do then?" _

"**That's why I said it's good that you're thinking about Sasuke-kun a little more now. That way you have possibilities, and if your feelings are torn, then you won't get hurt as badly as you did the first time,"**said Inner Sakura.

"_Okay, let's not talk about this anymore,"_ suggested Sakura. _"When did 'Sasuke' become 'Sasuke-kun', anyway?"_

Inner Sakura shrugged and replied, _**"Fine by me. Let the thoughts wander and settle in your, I mean, my head. About Sasuke-kun, well, let's just say I've been calling him that ever since you became torn between the two hot brothers."**_

With a groan, Sakura rolled back on her back again. Her eyes wandered over to her cell phone, which was lying on her bedside table. Her left hand brushed stray strands of hair away from her face while her right hand reached for her cell phone. Once she got a hold of her phone, Sakura flipped it open and speed dialed her senior, Temari.

The dial tone was heard, and after about three rings, Temari answered, "Sakura, what's up?"

"Hey, Temari. I was just thinking, a lot, about Sasuke and Itachi, and well, you once told me not to completely trust and fall for Itachi again," Sakura started.

"Yes, I did. Is it bothering you?" asked Temari.

"Well, I was just thinking, a lot. I tried to deny that Itachi would do that to me again, but lately, I've been wavering. It's possible that he could leave me again. After all, that girl could still be in his life, and I could just be a fling," ranted Sakura.

"That's where I was trying to get to, Sakura. Don't give in so easily to him. Be cautious so that you won't get hurt a second time. Sasuke asking you to the dance is actually a good thing, I guess. At least he'll take your mind off Itachi," said Temari.

"I guess," replied Sakura. "Hey Temari, thanks for giving me that piece of advice."

"I didn't give you any advice," denied Temari.

"You still helped me, and got me thinking. Thank you for that," thanked Sakura.

Temari chuckled and replied, "Oh, no need to thank me, Sakura. Let's just say that I've seen similar problems like this."

"I see. You really have more experience than the rest of us, Temari. I hope you'll have a great time at the dance with Shikamaru," said Sakura.

"Thanks. I was wondering when that lazy ass would have the guts to finally ask me," said Temari with a sigh.

"You were anticipating it?" Sakura asked.

"Kind of. I heard you girls talking about it too, so that gave me a lot of hints," answered Temari.

Sakura twirled a strand of pink hair around her left index finger. "I see. Oh, and you are coming to Hinata's party, aren't you?"

"Of course. Hinata's one of my closest friends. I wouldn't miss it for the world. Plus, you girls are all going to be there," replied Temari.

"Yeah, we are. Ok, well, sorry for calling you so suddenly, Temari. I just wanted to say thanks," said Sakura.

"No problem. You can ring me up anytime you want. I'd be happy to talk with you," Temari replied.

"Thanks Temari. Bye then." Sakura hung up after that, and sat up on her bed. She placed her phone back on the bedside table, and jumped off her bed. Sakura walked over to her open window and leaned on the window sill. A light breeze blew past her, lifting her long hair in the air. With a sigh, the rosette shut her window and plopped back on her bed. A few moments later, her eyelids concealed her irises as sleep took control of her.

* * *

"Good morning, Sakura!" greeted Ino. The rosette and blond met up at the school gate and walked in the school together. "Have you gone shopping for dresses yet?"

Sakura shook her head. "No, I haven't. Have you?"

"I haven't either. Why don't you, I, and the rest of the girls go shopping this evening, together? The dance's just around the corner! Oh, and we have to buy new clothes to wear at Hinata's party too," rambled Ino.

"My thoughts exactly, Ino," replied Sakura. "Let's tell Hinata and TenTen in homeroom if we have the chance."

"Okay. Let's go, we're gonna be late for homeroom." Ino slid her right arm around Sakura's left arm and ran to homeroom with her.

Once roll call ended in homeroom Ino and Sakura each went to TenTen and Hinata, respectively, to tell them about their future trip to the shopping mall after school. Both girls agreed to go with them. They also planned to tell Temari later, at lunch. The day passed by pretty quickly, and soon, the bell rang, signaling the end of the school day.

"Sakura, come on, let's go," said an impatient Ino while tapping her right foot.

"Just a minute, Ino. I can't find my wallet," replied Sakura. The rosette was crouching and searching carefully for her missing wallet.

"How long is this going to take? How did you lose it anyway?" asked Ino.

"I have no idea how I lost it. I'm sure it's in this classroom, though, because when I searched my bag during the class after this, my wallet was gone," responded Sakura. "You can go ahead if you want to, Ino. I'll catch up, okay?"

"Okay. You know which mall we're going to, right?" Ino questioned.

Sakura got up and brushed the dirt off her shirt. "Yeah, of course. You and the others go ahead. I'll come by later when I find my wallet, okay?"

"Alright, sure. See you at the mall, Sakura." Ino then walked out the classroom.

"Okay, Sakura. You'd better start searching like crazy now," Sakura told herself. She then launched herself into a mad search for her wallet. "My wallet isn't even that small. Where can it be?" The rosette was getting more impatient by the minute. Twenty minutes passed, and there was still no sign of the wallet. "This is so not funny. Someone must have it. There's no way my wallet can drop out of my bag," sighed Sakura.

"Oh, someone has it alright." Sakura's head jerked up and she got up from her crouching position. Her head whipped around to where the voice resounded. Her eyebrows furrowed and her hands balled up into tight fists.

"Why am I not surprised?" Sakura spat. "You have my wallet don't you?"

"It's not healthy to jump to conclusions, pinky. What proof do you have?" retorted the person.

"Karin, you were in this class with me, and your seat was right beside mine. I hung my bag on the hook at the side of the desk. Plus, why would you come here in the first place?" Sakura concluded.

"Bravo, pinky. I'll give you some credit," said Karin, sarcastically. She dug into her skirt pocket and pulled out a thin wallet with a white background, decorated with pictures of cherry blossoms

"That's mine!" shouted Sakura. "Hand it over." The rosette extended her right hand.

Karin tossed the wallet in the air, then caught it. She repeated the action a few more times. "If you want it, come and get it," the red-head taunted.

"Don't make me mad, Karin," threatened Sakura.

"What are you planning to do, pinky?" taunted Karin.

Without warning, Sakura ran and launched herself at Karin, knocking her to the ground. The two girls rolled around in the empty hallway for a while. Sakura punched Karin once, and the red-head returned her punch with a slap. The wallet never left Karin's hand, no matter how hard Sakura struggled to get it back. All of a sudden, Sakura felt a sharp pain on her scalp. She soon realized that she was being held back by her hair. A few seconds later, her arms were restricted as well.

"Good you two. Hold her there," ordered Karin.

Sakura and Karin were both bruised by now. Both girls had a black-eye each. Sakura had scratches on her neck and cheeks while Karin's face was throbbing from the punches Sakura landed. "You had two other girls with you? How low can you get?" hissed Sakura.

"It's always good to have backups," replied Karin with a twisted grin.

"Why would you take my wallet in the first place?" asked Sakura hostilely.

"It's not the money I wanted. The wallet was just bait. I knew you would come back looking for it, so I waited until you were alone. What I want is to get rid of you," answered Karin, her face closing in on Sakura's.

"What do you plan to do anyway? It's too extreme to kill someone out of spite, y'know," retorted Sakura.

"Oh, I'd never go that far," replied Karin, drawing her head back. "I just want Sasuke-kun to forget about you."

"You can't make someone forget," spat Sakura.

"But I do remember that Sasuke-kun likes girls with long hair," drawled Karin. Sakura froze.

"Are you crazy?" shouted the rosette.

Karin walked around Sakura so that she was right behind her. The red-head then ran her fingers through Sakura's long, pink hair. "It'd be such a waste, Sakura. Your hair's so long and pretty," Karin said. "Too bad it's going to get cut."

"Hey, I like my hair! Get your hands off! Don't touch me!" Sakura exclaimed. She tried struggling, but the other two girls with Karin held her down.

"Ami, did you bring a pair of scissors?" asked Karin. One of the girls nodded and fished out a pair of scissors from a small purse. Karin took it from her and forcefully pulled Sakura's hair, making the rosette wince.

"Ami, Kin, hold her down," ordered Karin. With one swipe of the scissors, Karin shortened Sakura's hair. The long, rose colored locks fell to the floor, not longer attached to the rosette's head.

"You're sick, you know that?" hissed Sakura.

"I don't need your opinion. Ami, Kin, take care of her." Karin then dropped the pair of scissors and Sakura's wallet, and walked away nonchalantly.

"Newbie, you really shouldn't make Karin angry," advised the girl named Ami.

"Why are you two helping her out anyway? Both of you are as sick and twisted as her!" yelled Sakura.

"Karin has a lot of power in her hands! Don't you dare talk about her that way!" Ami shouted, and kicked the rosette to the ground.

The girl called Kin forcefully brought down her right foot onto Sakura's head. "Although a lot of people may not like Karin, no girl dare opposes her. You're probably the first, and your friend, Ino, is probably the second. You and your little crew of girls can hate Karin all you want, but you girls can do nothing against her," said Kin.

"I can knock her out in mere seconds," hissed Sakura.

Her comment earned her another kick from Ami- this time, to her stomach. "Karin has been tolerant, but this time, I guess she just exploded. You must really piss her off," commented Ami.

"I think she's had enough, Ami. Let's just go," suggested Kin.

"Fine," said Ami. Kin lifted her foot from Sakura's head and the two girls walked down the empty hallway.

Sakura put her hands on the ground, and pushed herself up. "Karin must have had a fucked up childhood," breathed the rosette. Her hands travelled to the tip of her short hair, and her eyes wandered over to the long locks of hair that laid on the floor. Tears filled up in her eyes, and threatened to spill out. Sakura collected the hair that was no longer hers, and held them in her right hand.

She slowly got up on her feet and walked, step by step to her wallet. She bent down to pick it up, and painfully walked back to the classroom. Sakura dropped the long, pink hair, in the trashcan and put the wallet back in her bag. Large drops of tears were already rolling down Sakura's face as she swung her bag over one shoulder and walked out the classroom.

By the time she reached the school gate, she had already gotten a bad headache and her stomach was starting to hurt even more. "I guess I'll have to endure this," sighed the rosette.

"What are you still doing here?" asked someone. Sakura turned around and faced the person.

"I should be the one asking you that, y'know," Sakura questioned back.

"Hn, I was putting away the PE equipment from my last class," Sasuke answered. "What happened to you?"

Sakura avoided Sasuke's gaze. "Nothing. You shouldn't concern yourself over me." Sakura was about to walk away, when Sasuke stopped her by gripping her wrist.

"What happened?" the younger Uchiha asked once more.

The rosette sighed and answered, "Ask your little fangirl, Karin."

"I'm not asking her. I'm asking you," retorted Sasuke.

"Fine! I got attacked, okay? Karin and two other girls ambushed me! Not to mention, that red-head cut my hair!" exclaimed Sakura.

"Why?" was Sasuke's only reaction.

"Apparently Karin's so obsessed over you that she just had to attack me. Who knows? Maybe Ino will be next too! Karin said, 'Sasuke-kun likes girls with long hair' then she just cut my hair! It took a long time to grow out my hair, and now, it's all gone," sniffed Sakura. Tears rolled down her cheeks once again, as the rosette started to cry softly.

Sasuke wiped Sakura's tears with his finger, surprising Sakura. He then came closer to her and comforted her silently, with a loose hug. His right hand rested on the small of her back while his left hand brushed Sakura's short hair. Lost for words, Sakura just kept on crying softly.

"_Who knew he could be a sweet person?"_ The rosette mentally asked herself.

When the waterworks stopped, Sasuke let go of Sakura and offered, "I'll give you a ride back home."

Not in the mood to deny, Sakura just nodded her head. She then did something which surprised herself- she took hold of Sasuke's hand. The act surprised not only Sakura, but Sasuke as well. However, the Uchiha didn't show it. He just closed his fingers around Sakura's smaller hand and led her to his car.

* * *

**SasuSaku goodness! X3 I don't hate Karin as much anymore, but I needed an antagonist for this story… -_-' Lately, I don't want to bash characters, but like I said… an antagonist was needed. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! =) Please review, review, review! **


	13. So Close, Yet So Far

**Finally an update! . I've been out of the Naruto world for so long (blame my reading Fairy Tail and watching Nikelodeon cartoons), but now I'm back! AND i changed my pen name to "AoiCherry". =D Okay, new chapter time.**

* * *

**So Close, Yet So Far**

"Saaakuuurrraaa!" Ino's voice screeched out of the phone. "Sakura, I heard everything from Sasuke-kun! I can't believe they did that to you! How are you? You're safe at home right?"

Sakura smiled. "Yes, Ino. I'm safe and sound back home. I'll be fine, don't worry." The rosette tried to keep her voice cheery. Ino, on the other side of the call, saw right through her act.

"Come on Forehead. I can tell you're not fine," the blond girl retorted.

Sakura sighed. "I never can keep anything from you, can I, Ino?"

"Nope, you can't. Now tell me how you're really feeling."

"It's just a mix of emotions, Ino. Of course, I'm pissed at Karin, a bit disappointed that I didn't get to go shopping with you girls, and well…" Sakura paused.

"Well?" Ino drawled.

The rosette blushed, remembering the kindness that the younger Uchiha showed. "Well, kind of embarrassed."

"Because?" Ino encouraged.

Heat rose up to Sakura's cheeks just by her thinking about Sasuke. _"I don't think Sasuke-kun told Ino what he did for me in detail." _

_**"You don't say,"**_ murmured Inner Sakura.

The rosetted decided to ignore her inner self and continued, "Well, Sasuke-kun was really… kind."

"Well, I'm not really surprised. He can be kind when he wants to." Ino said.

"That act of kindness almost gave me a heart attack," Sakura replied.

"That's sweet, Sakura! You're finally admitting that you like Sasuke-kun," Ino gushed.

"What? I never said that," retorted Sakura, a shade of red decorating her cheeks.

"I can sense romance from a mile away, Billboard Brow. You can't run from me," teased Ino. "It's pretty much obvious, y'know. You're always in denial and you keep covering up your feelings for Sasuke-kun by saying you love Itachi. You know what I think?"

Sakura stayed silent, knowing that Ino had hit the bullseye. Ever since she stared getting a bit uncomfortable around Sasuke, being hurt when she sees him with other girls, and feeling like her heart was about to burst when he showed her the slightest act of kindness, Sakura knew that there was no turning back. She had finally fallen for her ex-boyfriend's brother.

Ino's voice got a tad harsher with every word she uttered. "I think you're just insecure. You don't want what happened with Itachi to happen with Sasuke-kun. You keep on denying it, but one day you'll see…"

"Okay, okay, Ino, you're right!" Sakura interrupted. "I know I…like Sasuke-kun now. I've always denied it, but now I can't anymore. I can't run away anymore."

"There you go. See? You can admit your feelings truthfully," Ino said, softening her voice.

"Yeah." There wasn't much for Sakura to say. Sure, she liked Sasuke-kun, but so did a hundred other girls at her school. Who knew what else could happen to her if she did speak her true feelings for the school's heartthrob?

"Oh, and I got you a dress!" Ino enthusiastically added. "It's perfect for you!" As Ino droned on about the dresses she and the other girls bought, Sakura let her mind wander. How would Sasuke react if he found out she really did like him? Would Karin do anything worse to her if Sakura confessed? Who knows?

* * *

"Sakura-chan! You're okay!"

"I-I hope you'll get b-better."

"I am going to kill those bitches!"

"Come on, don't make things so troublesome."

"I'm glad you're alright, Sakura."

At the school's entrance, Sakura was literally tackled by Naruto while the rest of her friends gathered around her and all talked at once. "Nice to see you guys too," was what Sakura could only say, withstanding Naruto's hug squeezing the life out of her.

"Hey idiot, can't you see she's having trouble breathing?"

Sakura's head shot up. The calm and collected voice of Sasuke Uchiha rang in her ears as clear as a bell. Wanting to hide her blush, Sakura immediately lowered her head and focused on Naruto instead. The blond boy released his pink haired friend and smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry, Sakura-chan. I heard from teme about what happened yesterday," Naruto told her.

"Right now, I'm going to let bygones be bygones. They're not going to ruin my life nor my night at the Snowflake Ball," Sakura decided, masking her anger at Karin by trying to sound cheerful. "Besides, I think the hairdresser whom Sasuke took me to did a good job trimming my hair." Saying so, the rosette pinched the ends of her short hair with her thumb and index finger.

Just then, the bell rang, signaling the start of homeroom, and all the students outside filed into the school.

* * *

"Ne, Sasuke-kun," purred Karin, edging closer to Sasuke, who was putting away his books in his locker. "You don't happen to have a date for the Snowflake Ball, do you?" Hoping Sasuke would answer no, Karin prepared herself to ask him, herself. What she didn't expect was him having a date, and with the person she couldn't stand the most, to top it off.

"I do, with Sakura," Sasuke replied, keeping his answer short. After slamming his locker shut, he walked away from the redhead, whose mouth hung open with a look of disbelief etched on her face.

"Why? Why can't it be me?" Karin muttered. Angered, she curled her hands into fists and threw a punch at the lockers to her side. "You're just a new student, pinky, and you still managed to steal Sasuke-kun away. What is so special about you? What do you have that I don't?" Still fuming, Karin stomped away to her next class.

* * *

A few days flew by swiftly and soon, the day of the Snowflake Ball arrived. The music was in full swing, the buffet was crowded with hungry teens, and the dance floor was occupied by girls with their dates. The air conditioners in the room were blasting cold air, imitating the cold wind that blows during winter. Cans of fake snow were neatly stacked on a table, ready to be used if anyone wanted to create a more snowy atmosphere.

"I have to say, this is actually fun," admitted Temari, who had just returned to her friends after getting a cup of fruit punch.

"Hinata, are you okay? You don't look so good," Sakura asked, concerned for her shy friend.

"I-It's just, I-I feel a bit uncomfortable," Hinata whispered.

"Uncomfortable being in a crowded place?" TenTen asked.

The dark haired Hyuuga shook her head. "D-Dancing."

"Aw, you'll be fine, Hinata!" Ino cheerily piped. "It's not like you're going to faint while dancing with Naruto, right? You're gonna be close to him, dancing in his arms, gazing in his eyes..."

Hinata's face suddenly turned red from embarrassment. "C-Close to N-Naruto-kun, i-in his a-arms…" Hinata stuttered. Just the thought of it made the shy girl woozy.

"Don't get too worked up over it, Hinata," Sakura assured her. "You'll be fine."

"B-But everyone w-will have to participate i-in the s-s-slow dance at the end," Hinata murmured.

"You should be happy about it, girl!" Ino encouraged. "After all, you're gonna be dancing with your crush!" The pretty blond then looked around the room, searching for her date. "Well, have fun guys! I'm going to go dance with Sai." With that, Ino walked off.

"Pinky!" Sakura flinched after hearing the voice. She grudgingly turned around to find herself facing Karin.

"What do you want?" Sakura demanded. "Here to make fun of me?"

Instead of replying, Karin just leaned in and observed the rosette, her eyes darting left and right. Unknown to Karin, TenTen was slowly reaching for her back pocket where her small weapons were hidden. Temari tensed up as well. Her right hand gripped the back of her chair, ready to stand and help Sakura in case Karin tried to do anything. Contrary to TenTen's and Temari's predictions, Karin just sighed heavily. "Just what is so special about you?"

Sakura raised her right eyebrow in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing you need to know," spat Karin. She then trotted off as if nothing had happened.

"What's her problem?" TenTen asked, leaning back in her chair.

"No idea," replied Sakura. _"I just hope she isn't planning anything this time." _

Suddenly, Naruto's loud voice broke the awkward silence that Karin brought to the group of girls. "Hinata! Come out and dance! You've been sitting there the whole time!"

The extremely embarrassed girl suddenly started paying more attention to her hands than her crush. When he didn't get an answer, Naruto strolled over to the girls to check on Hinata himself. The dark haired girl had her head down, her bangs covering her eyes. Naruto gently put his right hand on Hinata's forehead, then removed his hand and pressed his own forehead to hers. "You don't have a fever do you, 'cuz you seem a bit flushed."

The first act of affection had Hinata breathing rapidly. The second act just had her eyes reeling. The poor girl was blushing so furiously that her excessive body heat, combined with Naruto's, caused her to lose consciousness.

Naruto grabbed Hinata's shoulders and shook them gently. Her head lolled to the side, but there was no other reaction from her. "Hinata? Hinata?" There was no answer from the girl. "Hinata, I really hope you're not dead." When there was still no answer, Naruto said, "Okay! I'll perform CPR on you, Hinata!"

The last sentence snapped Hinata out of her stupor. She yanked her head up with her eyes still closed, only causing her forehead to collide with Naruto's nose. "N-N-No, th-that won't b-be necessary!" Hinata stuttered like a machine gun. She slowly opened one of her eyes and saw that Naruto was on his butt, holding his nose. "N-Naruto-kun, a-are you okay?"

"I'll be fine. Don't worry," assured Naruto, giving her a wide smile.

Temari chuckled. "Those two have got to be the most hilarious couple I've ever met."

"W-W-We're not a c-c-c…" Hinata had some trouble finishing her sentence.

"Couple," Naruto finished for her.

Temari merely shrugged. "By the way, Sakura," she said, turning her attention to her rose haired friend. "Where's your 'cold-as-ice' date?"

"He went to the men's room," Sakura replied. _"And is taking an awfully long time at that,"_ she mentally added.

_**"What if he got cornered by his fangirls or whatever?"**_ suggested Inner Sakura.

_"Unlikely. He can easily push them off,"_ countered Sakura.

_**"Well, fangirls are full of surprises,"**_ Inner Sakura continued.

* * *

"What do you want?" Sasuke icily asked when Karin sauntered up to him.

"Just what do you see in that girl, Sasuke-kun? I've known you much longer than her and you've never…"

Sasuke interrupted her. "No, Karin. You've never 'known' me. You've only seen me around. Never have you truly tried to get to know me without another intention hidden in between. I'll say it straight, Karin. I'm not interest in you."

Sasuke walked past Karin, but the redhead swiftly snatched his shirt sleeve. "What do I have to do to get you to notice me, Sasuke-kun? All I wanted was your attention."

The onyx haired Uchiha yanked his arm away from her grasp. "You hurt Sakura, and I don't plan on forgiving you for that. I don't understand why you need to drag her into this. Settle your problems yourself." Saying so, Sasuke left a dumbfounded Karin alone. The air around him even seemed to turn colder. Karin's glasses reflected the incoming light, and shone brightly. Unbeknownst to others, tears were also glistening at the corners of her eyes.

* * *

"Are you all ready for the last song of the night?" announced the D.J. A wave of cheers that followed answered his question. Instead of the upbeat songs that were playing throughout the night, the last song was a slow, calming one.

On the dance floor, couples were in each other's arms, swaying to the soft music. Unlike other couples, Sakura felt awkward. Almost the whole night, she had been questioning herself. If she really did love Sasuke, then what did she feel for Itachi? Was it love, or just the shadow of the love that once was? She still felt happy seeing Itachi, and her heart still raced when she was with him, but it was different from the way her body reacted to Sasuke's presence.

_**"Geez, woman. Get your head out of the gutter! Here you are, in the arms of the man you love and you're thinking about another guy?" **_chastised Inner Sakura.

_"I do love Sasuke-kun, but still, what about Itachi?"_ Sakura mentally questioned.

_**"Look girl, either you like a guy or you don't like him. It's not possible to like two guys at once," **_Inner Sakura said.

_"Yeah, but…"_

"Hey, Sakura, are you okay?"

Sasuke's deep voice snapped Sakura out of her thoughts. She raised her head and soon found herself staring into Sasuke's dark eyes. To others, they were dark; as black as night. To Sakura, they were the dark skies of a starry night; black, but also held small lights of hope.

"Sakura?" Sasuke called out once more.

"Oh, sorry," the rosette apologized. _"Ah, great. I've been staring at his eyes this whole time. That'd definitely label me as 'weird'." _

"Don't let Karin and the other girls get to you," Sasuke advised.

"Oh, I'm not worried about them," Sakura quickly replied.

"Then why are you spaced out?" Sasuke asked.

Still dancing, Sakura bit her lip and stared at the ground. Would now be a good time to tell him about her feelings? Would he just leave her on the dance floor with a "Sorry, let's just be friends"? Or would he accept her confession?

The Uchiha sighed. "If you can't tell me, then it's fine. It's just…" Sasuke paused and Sakura looked up again. Once their eyes met, Sasuke quickly glanced away. It was faint, but Sakura could see what looked like a light shade of pink on his cheeks.

_"Is Sasuke-kun… blushing?" _

_**"Well duh!"**_ Inner Sakura interrupted.

Ignoring her inner self, Sakura cleared her throat and said, "It's just what, Sasuke-kun?"

"It's just…irritating me," Sasuke finished.

_"Irritating? Am I irritating him?" _

"So you're saying," Sakura started, "That I'm irritating you? That I'm annoying?"

"Not quite," Sasuke answered. Sakura mentally sighed. There was no way she was going to tell him her feelings if he ever thought she was annoying. "It worries me."

Sakura blinked once. Twice. "Worries you?" she echoed.

Sasuke nodded. The rosetted noticed that his light blush had become a tad more obvious. "For some reason it hurts me to see you in pain. Hn, I must be getting soft," Sasuke said with a light chuckle and a small smile.

Right then, Sakura thought no one else could be as handsome as Sasuke was at that moment. Her hands betrayed her brain and she soon realized that her arms had wrapped themselves around Sasuke's torso. The other couples were still swaying to the music, but Sakura and Sasuke had stopped. Sasuke's own arms slipped around Sakura's waist, pulling her into a tighter embrace. For a few seconds, they stood there, frozen, as if they were in their own world.

Sakura gazed into Sasuke's black eyes. For some reason, it seemed that her face was getting closer to Sasuke's and vice versa. Sasuke's forehead lightly touched Sakura's and the two stared at each other.

"Sasuke-kun," whispered a surprised, but overjoyed, Sakura.

The young Uchiha brought his face down closer, and closer to Sakura's. Their noses touched; inch by inch, their lips were closing in. Just as they were about to close the gap between their lips…

"Sasuke-kun's about to kiss that girl!"

A shrill screech followed suit. "What? No way!"

"Get away from Sasuke-kun, pink-haired freak!"

The song had ended a few moments ago, but Sakura and Sasuke hadn't noticed. Sakura quickly pulled away from her date's embrace and without another glance at Sasuke or any other person, ducked her head and dashed out of the room.

* * *

**Alright, new chapter done! =) So… what do you think? Please review! Since I'm interested in 'Naruto' again, I'll try to write the next chapter soon.**

**REVIEW**

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**REVIEW, PLEASE! **


	14. Illumination

**I'm back with another chapter of "My Girl's Exboyfriend"! Like I said a couple of chapters before, I don't really hate Karin. I used to dislike her, but not anymore. Anyway, enough of my talking. Enjoy this chapter. =)**

* * *

**Illumination**

_**"Stupid fangirls. We were so close too!" **_Inner Sakura complained.

Sakura sighed mentally. For the past few minutes she had been taking refuge in the girls' room. Sitting on the toilet, she kept rewinding her near-kiss with her crush over and over again in her mind.

_**"Aw, you're turning into a fangirl yourself,"**_ Inner Sakura teased.

_"Hey, at least I'm a closet fangirl now,"_ Sakura replied, still dazed.

"I heard that, y'know," a voice outside said.

Realizing that she had spoken out loud, Sakura quickly clasped her mouth shut with both her hands. She mentally cursed. Out of all the people it had to be her? "Yeah, so what?" retorted the rosette.

"Calm down, I'm not gonna do anything," the voice assured. "I've been in here this whole time too. I'm surprised you didn't notice when you came running in here."

"Well Karin, my mind was too occupied with some things," Sakura replied.

"I heard all the commotion outside," Karin said, sounding uncharacteristically calm.

"Well, I'm surprised you weren't part of it," the rosette talked back.

"I've always been thinking, 'Why wasn't it me?'. Why was Sasuke-kun interested in you and not me? Why couldn't I have been you?" Karin blurted. "I know I was jealous, and I still am. I wanted some kind of catharsis, to let out my anger, and I decided that my form of catharsis would be to torment you."

"Why are you speaking to me anyway?" Sakura asked.

"I spoke to Sasuke-kun a couple of times," Karin continued, ignoring Sakura's question. "He made a good point. I've been so bitchy in the past, afraid that some girl might come and take Sasuke-kun away. I guess I was insecure too. Sasuke-kun was my idol and the thought of some girl trying to steal him away was too much."

"Did you just want someone to talk to?" Sakura quietly asked Karin from inside the stall.

Karin chuckled. "Maybe. I've never even given much thought about friendship. I've loved Sasuke-kun for ages, but I've never even thought of getting to know him without torturing other girls who could get in my way. Maybe my infatuation was just pulling me back."

Sakura slowly opened the door of the toilet stall she was in and peeked outside. Karin had her arms crossed, and she was leaning on door of the girls' room. Sakura started, "Y'know, Karin, you can be pretty calm when you want to be." Sakura observed the other girl's features carefully. Her eyebrows rose up a little. Karin's eyes were swollen and her nose was red._ "Had she been crying all this time?" _

"In cases where Sasuke-kun isn't involved, I am calm. At least, that what Suigetsu says," Karin answered.

"Suigetsu?" Sakura questioned.

"Yeah, a classmate of mine," the redhead replied.

"Now that we're actually talking calmly, you're not so bad," admitted Sakura. "Why don't you try being friends with other people instead of letting your jealousy and insecurity hold you back?"

"Well, it's clear to me now that Sasuke-kun really likes you. I've never seen him show any interest in any girl before, except when he was being friendly with Ino," Karin said. "I've just been jealous, and I took it out on you. Now, I've actually talked to Sasuke-kun, face to face, instead of just chasing after him all the tim, and I know what I've done weren't really the best things."

"I can hardly believe what I'm hearing," muttered Sakura. "Karin, you're actually feeling bad for what you did."

"I'm a human too! Of course I would feel bad! Especially when Sasuke-kun was the one to snap me out of it," Karin boomed.

"It's good that you're opening up to someone at least," Sakura said.

Karin sighed heavily. "Yeah, I guess. Maybe I just wanted someone to notice me and listen to me." Using her palms, Karin pushed herself off of the door and turned the handle. "Thanks…for…listening to my rambles. I'll be going now." Saying so, the redhead pulled the door open and walked out.

_**"Well that was unexpected,"**_ Inner Sakura spoke.

_"You think? It's Karin. Of course that was unexpected,"_ Sakura mentally retorted.

_**"At least she's trying to change… hopefully,"**_ Inner Sakura continued.

_"Yeah. Hopefully." _

* * *

"S-Sakura, y-you're coming to my house r-right?" Hinata asked with her usual stutter.

"Of course I am," Sakura replied.

"I-I hope you're okay, S-Sakura," Hinata whispered.

"I'm fine! Last night was nothing! Those fangirls have nothing on me," Sakura said in an unusually loud voice, then laughed uncomfortably.

"Y-You don't seem f-fine," Hinata observed. "I-Is it because of S-Sasuke-san?"

"Because of me?"

Sakura froze. Hinata looked up timidly and quickly whispered to Sakura, "I-I'll leave you two alone now." The dark haired Hyuuga then ran off.

_"Hinata! Don't leave me yet!"_ Sakura mentally cried.

"You look scared," Sasuke commented.

"I'm not scared!" The rosette retorted. "I'm just…surprised?" Noticing how idiotic she sounded, Sakura suddenly found herself being more interested in the floor than Sasuke's face.

Sasuke sighed. "Look, about last night…" At the words "last night", Sakura continued to hide her expression by burying her face in her hands. "I…apologize," Sasuke finished.

With her face still in her hands, Sakura blinked. _**"Apolozige? APOLOGIZE? He need to continue, not apologize, that dim…!" **_

"Ah, it's okay," Sakura said, ignoring her Inner Self's angered ramblings and slowly looking up at Sasuke.

"Hn, alright. Then I'll see you at the Hyuuga's estate." With that, Sasuke turned his back on the rosette and walked away.

_**"You're telling me that it? You're satisfied with this?" **_Inner Sakura exploded.

_"Right now, yes. Now shut up."_

* * *

_"Geez, I just can't be more honest with myself can I?" _Sasuke thought, as he got ready to go to the female Hyuuga's Christmas party.

"You can never accept your own feelings, can you, little brother?"

Sasuke jumped and whipped his head around to see his older brother. The younger Uchiha growled, "What are you doing here, Itachi?"

"I heard what happened last night, Sasuke," replied Itachi. "You really should be more honest with yourself." Sasuke scoffed, ignored his brother, and kept on changing clothes. "You can't run away forever," Itachi continued.

"I thought you like her too," Sasuke reminded.

"Well, it's a different kind of love now," Itachi replied. Sasuke's face showed his annoyance at his brother's words. "Before you do anything rash, little brother, this is good new for you."

"Why are you leading her on if you don't even love her anymore?" Sasuke asked in a harsh voice.

"Because I know she doesn't either," Itachi answered.

"What?" was all Sasuke could utter.

"You heard me. I can see that she no longer feels the same way she did when we were going out. You should know that too, little brother," explained Itachi. "I also know that you are too concerned about your pride to confess."

Sasuke had no smart retort to this. His brother nailed it right on the spot. Instead of saying anything, the younger Uchiha decided to remain silent. Knowing that his little brother would rather shut his mouth, Itachi shook his head slowly and walked out of the room.

"That Itachi," Sasuke muttered. "He sees right through everything." The young boy then reached into a small bag and brought out a small, neatly wrapped box. He tucked it away, into his shirt pocket, grabbed his coat, and left.

* * *

"You made it!" Ino gave Sakura a bone crushing hug as the rosette entered the Hyuuga estate.

"Yes, I did," Sakura managed to say. "Now can you please let go?"

Releasing her friend, Ino said, "Come on, the others are already here. You're the last one."

"Where Hinata?" Sakura asked, surprised that Ino was the one who was greeting her.

"Oh, she and Neji are busy with the others. They **are** the hosts, so they had to make sure everything was in order," Ino explained.

Sakura and Ino journeyed in the mansion and the rosette saw that the party was in full swing. Hinata definitely put a lot of effort into this.

"I'm gonna go find Hinata," said Sakura. Ino nodded, and the rosette left to go and greet the younger Hyuuga.

It wasn't hard for Sakura to find her. Hinata was sitting, away from the crowd of people, holding a large box, decorated with a ribbon and wrapped with bright orange wrapping paper. The rosette sat down beside Hinata. "I'm guessing that's your Christmas present for Naruto."

Hinata nodded. "I-I don't know wh-when to give it t-t-to him. He's always a-around other p-people."

"I said I would help you with that, so I will," Sakura reminded. "Okay, I'm gonna go talk to him. Stay here, okay?"

The pink haired girl then ran into the hoard of people, trying to find her male, bond friend. After she spotted him hanging out with Sasuke, she stopped in her tracks. _"Come on, you promised Hinata you would help. Move…your…feet!" _ Sakura was saved the trouble when Sasuke decided to go somewhere else. She let out a sigh of relief. Wasting no time, she ran to Naruto's side.

"Sakura-chan! Glad to see you in one piece," teased Naruto.

"Yeah, yeah," Sakura quickly brushed him off. "Listen, Naruto. Over there," Sakura pointed to where Hinata was sitting, "Hinata's sitting all alone. You know she's really shy around people, right? Why don't you go there and keep her company?"

"You could come with me too, Sakura-chan. We'll both stay with her," Naruto suggested.

Sakura mentally face-palmed. Can he be any more dense? "I'm sure Hinata prefers to spend more time with you. I mean, I'm almost always hanging around with her, so she could use a change."

"Oh okay then!" Naruto pushed his way through the crowd to get to the young Hyuuga.

A while later, Sakura also decided to follow him, just to see how things were going. Once she got a good view of Naruto and Hinata from the crowd, she stayed put and observed. The blond boy was grinning and talking non-stop while Hinata quietly listened and nodded her head. A deep shade of read decorated her face the whole time.

"Cool, you're spying on Hinata!"

Surprised, Sakura uttered a small "eep" and whipped her head around, just to come face to face with her best friend, Ino.

"Geez Ino, don't scare me," whispered Sakura.

"I saw what you did. You're playing cupid. That's sweet," Ino said.

"Naruto needs to open his eyes sooner or later," replied Sakura.

Before replying, Ino spotted something, grinned, then said, "And… this is where I leave you. See ya!" The blond girl then walked away, back into the crowd.

Without any warning, someone took a hold of Sakura's arm and yanked her away. "Come with me," was what the person said. The rosette had no plans of resisting. She knew exactly to whom the voice belonged to.

"Where are you taking me?" Sakura asked.

"Somewhere away from this crowd," her captor replied.

Once the two of them were outside, Sakura started, "Itachi, what're we doing here?" The older Uchiha had led her upstairs, to a large balcony. Glittering stars decorated the dark night sky, with small snowflakes drifting down lazily from the sky. "I'm going to Paris."

Sakura blinked at Itachi's words. He's leaving…again? "Why?"

"I'm the oldest child, so I have to accompany my father. I don't know how long, but I'll be staying in Paris and handling my family's business there," Itachi explained.

"Oh." Even though Sakura knew she didn't love Itachi anymore, she still felt disappointed.

"Don't worry. My little brother will keep you company," Itachi assured. Sakura looked at him in confusion. "I know well enough that my little brother is quite…interested in you. I'm sure you return those feelings."

The rosette shyly looked down and blushed. Not wanting to deny anything, she whispered, "Um, how long have you known?"

"Long enough," Itachi answered. "I think it's time for you to move on and for my brother to finally swallow his pride. I know you're able to open up his feelings, Sakura." The older Uchiha patted Sakura's head lightly and ruffled it a little. "I'm glad I got to date you. You were different than other girls, and still are."

"So… goodbye?" Sakura muttered, still sounding disappointed, but happy for him as well.

Itachi nodded. "For now. Tell me if my little brother does anything stupid. You still have my email don't you?"

"Maybe I deleted it…" Sakura sheepishly answered and grinned awkwardly while playing with her short hair.

"I'll send you an email from Paris, then," Itachi said, amused. "Well, goodbye for now, Sakura. I'm glad I knew you." Saying so, Itachi gave the rosette one last hug and departed.

"See ya, Itachi," Sakura murmured, loud enough for Itachi to hear it.

"Take care of yourself," Itachi replied. "And my little brother."

As if by magic, when Itachi spoke the words "little brother", Sasuke walked in the scene. The older Uchiha put a hand on his brother's shoulder and whispered something too soft for Sakura to hear. Sasuke scoffed, grinned, then replied to his brother in a whisper as well.

Sakura tilted her head to the side in slight confusion. _"What in the world are they talking about?"_

* * *

"Aren't you cold?" Sasuke asked. He took off his coat and placed it on Sakura's shoulders to shelter her from the cool air. He continued, "So, my brother told you?"

Sakura nodded, her hands wrapping Sasuke's coat around her tighter. "He's leaving…again."

"I'm not surprised. He only comes back for a while. Then he leaves again, accompanying father on his business trips."

"You knew that he was going to leave sometime soon?" Sakura turned to the dark haired boy. "You never told me."

"Hn, I didn't think you'd want to know anyway," Sasuke replied. "When he came back you were all over him."

Sakura blushed. _**"You really were obsessed with him, y'know,"**_ Inner Sakura confirmed.

_"Shut up,"_ Sakura mentally retorted.

"Well, him telling you is the best way," Sasuke continued. "If I'd told you when you were still 'in love' with him, then you'd try to stop him from going."

"That's not true!" Sakura quickly replied.

"That's what you say now, because you don't love him anymore," Sasuke said, then grinned when the rosette had no comeback to his words. He smoothly reached into his pocket and brought out a neatly wrapped box. "Hey, this is for you."

Sakura looked at Sasuke, blinked, then looked at the box. "You **are** Sasuke-kun, right?" Sakura hesitantly asked. "The Sasuke-kun who wouldn't take one look at a girl is giving me a gift?"

An impatient Sasuke gritted his teeth but also blushed lightly at the same time. "Just…take it."

Sakura laughed. "Okay, okay, I'll stop messing with you." The rosette picked up the box from his palms, unwrapped it carefully, then opened it.

Inside was a small, but beautiful locket in the shape of a cherry blossom. Pink gems filled the space that was outlined by silver. Sakura picked up the small locket and raised it so that she could observe it by the moonlight.

"It's simple, but really pretty," Sakura commented.

"I thought it suited you." Sasuke stood up and extended a hand to Sakura. "We should be getting back."

The rosette shook her head slowly. "No, I'd rather stay here where it's quiet and breezy." She flashed a smile at Sasuke. "Plus, there are no other people around to disturb us…" Sakura suddenly realized what she had said, slapped her hands to her mouth, and crouched down.

Sasuke's look of surprise soon turned into a teasing one. "You were saying?"

Sakura turned her attention to the floor and shook her head furiously, hands still plastered on her mouth. A surprised squeak escaped from the rosette's lips when Sasuke pried her hands away from her mouth. The locket dropped to the floor with a small 'clink'. With one hand still grasping Sakura's wrist, Sasuke used the other to pick up the fallen locket. He placed the small trinket back in the small box and put it in Sakura's palm. "Put it away," he suggested.

The rosette curled her fingers around the small box and carefully set it back on the ground. "I don't have pocket or a bag, Sasuke-kun."

Sakura uttered another surprised yelp as Sasuke yanked her off the ground. He released his tight grip on her wrist, and slid his hands down so that his fingers were intertwined with hers. His other hand wrapped itself around Sakura's waist, pulling her close to him.

"You can hear the music, can't you?" Sasuke whispered, his voice deep and raspy.

Unable to talk, Sakura simply nodded. Her body soon started swaying with Sasuke's, her movements matching his. Finding her voice once again, Sakura asked, "How come you've changed so much?"

"Let's just say, we both should thank my older brother," the dark haired boy replied.

The two of them stayed that way for a few minutes, even after the music had stopped. Sakura's heart was thumping in her chest furiously and her blush deepened the more she danced with Sasuke. All of a sudden, Sasuke stopped. Sakura looked up at him.

The night sky was illuminated with a billion stars and the light of the moon shone down brightly upon the two of them. Snowflakes fell slowly, Sakura stared at Sasuke in awe. _"Is it possible for a person to be this handsome? Damn you, Sasuke-kun, you have me in a bind." _

_**"He always had,"**_ Inner Sakura teased. For once Sakura agreed with her inner self.

For Sakura, it was as if time itself had stopped. She was here, again, in Sasuke's arms, and she was slowly raising her head up. Emerald eyes were locked on to onyx eyes as the two got closer and closer. Once their lips finally, met it was as if fireworks went off. Sakura's eyelids slowly fell, enjoying every moment she had with the boy she loves.

* * *

**Another chapter done! This one seems a little rushed for me. If it did for you all, sorry about that. =) I think I'm going to wrap up this story in probably a few more chapters. And…it's kind of hard writing a SasuSaku fic without Sasuke being OOC (if not a lot, then a little). -_-; I know it's a little too late for that, but I hope no one was bothered by it. And...**

**Please...**

**REVIEW **

**REVIEW**

**REVIEW **

**=) See you all next chapter! **


	15. The Uchiha Family, Part One

**Another chapter, yay! I would've been happier if there were more reviews, though. I want to hear your opinions too. =3 Oh well, enjoy this chapter readers! **

* * *

**The Uchiha Family, Part One**

"You kissed him didn't you?"

Sakura could feel her body freeze at Ino's point blank accusation. "Uh…"

"With a pause like that, she definitely did," TenTen confirmed, nodding her head.

Slightly embarrassed, Sakura grabbed a nearby pillow and hugged it firmly. The girls were currently in Hinata's room, dressed in their pajamas. After presenting the head of the Hyuuga family with a lot of pleading and excuses, the girls were allowed to sleepover at the Hyuuga mansion for the night.

"Mm, yeah," Sakura murmured, barely audible. "It was…great." She then placed her hand on the locket Sasuke gave her, which now hung around her neck as a necklace.

"That locket he gave you matches your hair perfectly!" Ino complimented, crawling closer to Sakura and observing the small trinket.

"At least now you know he returns your feelings," Temari said.

"I just hope it won't turn out like Itachi," Sakura sighed. "I really like Sasuke-kun, but he actually hasn't technically asked me out yet."

"He will soon!" Ino assured her. "He's smitten with you, y'know. I'm an expert at reading peoples' faces!"

Sakura smiled. "The best of the best." She then turned to Hinata. "So, Hinata, what exactly did you give Naruto?"

The shy Hyuuga blushed and began playing with her fingers. "Um, w-well, I packed a hand-knit scarf, a-a lunch box th-that I made myself, a-and a bottle of hot tea."

"Wow, that's a lot of hand-made goods, Hinata," whistled Temari. "We're proud of you!"

"Th-Thank you," stammered Hinata.

As the night went on, the girls gossiped about each others' love lives as well as the success of Hinata's Christmas Party. Ino picked on Sakura about her and Sasuke disappearing in the middle of the party while Sakura retaliated and asked Ino about her current crush, Sai. The conversation then turned to Hinata's crush on Naruto. Hinata then smartly asked TenTen how training with her cousin was going. After the girls got bored of that, Ino immediately switched to Temari, teasing her with Shikamaru.

The room became silent only after midnight, when the girls slept soundly, wrapped warmly in their blankets.

* * *

"Hold on, y-you're serious?" Sakura asked, her jaw open from shock.

"Yes, Sakura. For the third time, I'm serious," confirmed Sasuke, with a light blush visible across his cheeks.

"S-So, you're asking me to come to dinner at your house?"

"My answer's still yes."

The rosette smiled. "Then my answer's yes too! I'll see you after school, then!"

As Sakura ran off giggling, Sasuke only watched her back with a small smile on his face. All of a sudden, Naruto creeped up behind Sasuke and whispered in his ear, "Well you're having a nice time, teme."

Sasuke turned around and jumped back, rubbing his arm to lessen the goosebumps that were forming on his skin. "Don't ever do that again, you idiot!"

The blond boy laughed heartily. "Messing with you is always fun, Sasuke! So, you got a date with Sakura-chan, huh?"

"Yeah, what's it to you?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto's wide smile suddenly disappeared. He slung his arm around Sasuke's shoulders and pulled the raven haired boy close to him. "Haven't you thought of what your dad might think of her? You told me Itachi knew your dad would never approve of her."

Sasuke gritted his teeth and answered, "Yes, I have thought of my dad. I may have done many things just to try and please him, but this time, I'm going to convince him that Sakura is as good as any 'business partners' he tries to find for me and Itachi."

"Itachi's already given in to you father," Naruto stated. "What makes you so sure you won't?"

"Because I've decided this, and if I've decided on something, I won't budge, no matter what happens," Sasuke defended.

Naruto stared at Sasuke for a while then broke out in laughter. "Ah, teme, you really have changed. This is a much better version of you." The blond boy then patted Sasuke's back and released him. "Now, let's go to lunch. I'm pretty sure you're looking forward to having Sakura at your house."

* * *

"Sasuke-kun!"

Sasuke turned his head in Sakura's direction, fully aware that she was the one who called him. Naruto, who was beside him, nudged the Uchiha with his elbow, grinning suggestively. Sasuke frowned at him, elbowed him in the ribs, then walked off to Sakura, ignoring Naruto's cursing.

"Ready to go?" Sasuke asked.

The rosette nodded. "Yes, and don't worry, Sasuke. I'll be on my best behavior!"

_"I hope that alone is enough for my dad to accept you," _Sasuke prayed.

* * *

After getting off the car, Sakura took a few deep breaths. "I realized that I never got to meet your parents while I was dating Itachi. It'd be nice to see them."

"You'll like my mom," Sasuke said. _"I don't know about my dad though." _

The two of them walked up the path that led to the front door. Sakura followed close behind Sasuke after he opened the door and went in. Soon, a woman with dark hair and a warm smile walked towards them, coming out from a nearby room.

"Sasuke, welcome home." She gave Sasuke a motherly hug then looked at Sakura. "Do you mind introducing us?"

"Mom, this is Sakura," Sasuke introduced. "Sakura, this is my mom, Mikoto Uchiha."

"It's nice to meet you, Uchiha-san," Sakura said while bowing deeply.

"Oh, I like this girl already," Mikoto teased. "She's the girl you've been telling me about isn't she?"

Sasuke nodded, apparently embarrassed by his mom's revelation. Sakura said, "You've told her about us?"

Mikoto laughed. "Yes. He's quite attracted to you. It's a good thing since I rarely see my youngest son show any interest in any female. I was beginning to get quite worried until you came, Sakura."

The rosetted laughed along with Mikoto. "Um, can I call you Mikoto-san?"

"Of course. You don't have to be too formal with me," Mikoto replied.

"Then, Mikoto-san, what did Sasuke tell you about me?" Sakura asked, partly to tease Sasuke, and partly to quench her own curiosity.

"Well," Mikoto began. "He kept asking me what type of gifts girls like and in which shops he can find them at…"

"Okay, mom. It's enough," Sasuke interrupted, blushing lightly.

"Aw, you're blushing," Mikoto pointed out teasingly.

"I'm not," the young Uchiha murmured, looking away from his mom's gaze.

"Well, Sakura, it'll take a while for dinner to be ready, so why don't you get familiar with the mansion?" Mikoto suggested. "Sasuke, show her around."

"Of course," Sasuke answered. He then offered his hand to Sakura, palm up. She blushed lightly before placing her hand on his. The two of them then went to explore the Uchiha home, with Sasuke acting like a tour guide.

After a several minutes of walking, Sakura spoke, "Your house is a big as Hinata's, Sasuke-kun."

"Well, we're able to live like this thanks to dad's business," Sasuke explained. "Now that Itachi's joining him as well, the profits will flow in more easily."

"It must be nice to have an older brother to depend on," Sakura said. "I know I used to depend on him a lot."

"Yeah, you're right," Sasuke agreed. "Although he has a strange way of showing his capability."

"That's just Itachi," Sakura said.

"Sakura, do you want to go upstairs?" Sasuke offered.

"Oh, sure. We still have time right?"

The young Uchiha smirked. "Plenty."

* * *

"This is where my dad works," Sasuke pointed out. "He always keeps his door closed though, so that no outside distractions can disturb him."

"Wait, if your dad is still here, then that means…" Sakura started to say.

"Little brother, what a pleasant surprise to see you with Sakura."

Sakura turned around to see the smiling face of Itachi Uchiha. "Hi! So you're still here?"

"What kind of greeting is that, Sakura? Yes, I'm still here, but I'll be leaving in a few days," Itachi replied. "This is probably the last family dinner I'll have before going."

Sakura frowned. "Don't you guys have family dinners every night?"

Sasuke sighed. "One of the main reasons is because of my dad's workaholic attitude. Usually he has the meals Mom sends up to his room."

"Well, you can't really blame Dad for working hard," Itachi defended. "It's because of him that we have this lifestyle."

"It's also because of him that you're being molded into a robot," Sasuke hissed.

"Isn't that going too far?" Sakura asked. "I mean, one of you has to take over the business, right? If not Itachi, then it's going to be you."

"You don't understand," Sasuke said through gritted teeth. "He's not going to stop at Itachi. I'm going to be next. Dad's always trying to find suitable female fiancés for both me and Itachi. I thought it would end when Itachi started dating you, since you're not some business deal Dad struck up. In the end, my idiotic brother gave in to our dad's desires and decided to throw you away to make himself available for any other girls Dad chooses for him!"

"Sasuke!" Itachi boomed. "That's enough out of you."

Sakura looked fearfully at Sasuke, who had a tight grip on both of her wrists. "Sasuke," she whimpered. "Your grip is too tight."

The younger Uchiha, realizing that he had unconsciously grabbed Sakura's wrists, immediately released them. "Sorry. I got carried away," he apologized.

"Was what he said true, Itachi?" Sakura asked.

The older Uchiha sent his brother a glare and replied, "Yes, Sakura. I'm sorry I never told you this, but I broke it off with you because I didn't want to disappoint my father. I didn't want to throw away my responsibilities as the oldest son."

Sakura winced. "It's always the oldest who have to suffer the most, huh?"

Sasuke watched the interaction between Sakura and Itachi with a sour look on his face. Noticing the icy glare that his brother was giving him, Itachi pat Sakura's head and said, "You don't have to worry about that now. Enjoy your time with my brother. Of course, you're staying for dinner right?"

"Yep!" The rosette answered.

"Good. Now, I have to go get ready for Paris. See you two at dinner." Saying so, Itachi walked down the hallway and disappeared into his room, closing the door behind him.

"Well now that's another misunderstanding untangled," Sakura said, cheerily. She stared at Sasuke, who still had a frown on his face. "What's wrong, Sasuke-kun?"

"You seemed to be happy talking with my brother," he muttered.

Sakura blinked twice, then covered her mouth to muffle her giggles. "Don't worry, Sasuke-kun. I don't like Itachi that way anymore. I'm just being friendly! Don't get jealous, now."

The dark haired boy simply muttered a small "hn" and turned his head away from Sakura. Slowly though, he trailed his eyes back to the girl beside him. He held his hand out once more and asked, "Do you want to see my room?"

* * *

**And… cut! =3 Sorry for the shortness. I wanted to cut if off at this scene. x3 And so it ends with a cliffy! Yay! I'd reeeeaaalllllyyy appreciate it if you, readers, would type your opinions about this story in the box below and click the little button that says "Submit Review"! xD**

**You know you want to press the little button! **


	16. The Uchiha Family, Part Two

**I really appreciate all of your favorites, follows, and reviews. ^_^ Now, enjoy the next chapter! **

* * *

**The Uchiha Family, Part Two**

Sakura stared at Sasuke and blinked while her jaw hung open. Soon the open mouth formed a smirk. "I'd love to see your room."

Sasuke pointed to a room down the hall, near the one Itachi went into. "It's right there." Saying so, he gently took her hand in his and led her there.

Once they were inside, Sakura immediately started snooping around. _"I can't believe it! I'm in Sasuke-kun's room!"_ she gleefully thought.

_**"Don't you turn into a creepy pervert,"**_ Inner Sakura warned.

Paying no attention to her inner self, Sakura sat on his bed and playfully bounced up and down like a little child. "Sasuke-kun, you're bed's really comfortable!"

The young Uchiha snickered. "I really hope you don't have any hidden meanings in that sentence."

Realizing that what she said did sound a little perverted, the rosette turned a bright shade of red within seconds. "Don't attempt to corrupt an innocent girl like me, Sasuke-kun," she teased.

Sasuke chuckled. "Don't worry, I'm not that kind of guy. I just wanted you to be the first one to see my room." He walked towards her and sat down on his bed, close beside her. "What do you think?"

The rosette looked around and answered, "It suits you. Dark and a little cool, but also very comfortable."

"You think I'm dark?"

"Psh, you've always an ice cube to girls."

"Not with this one." Sasuke then brushed away a stray strand of hair away from Sakura's left eye.

"I sure hope not," Sakura retorted playfully.

Sasuke continued, "Another reason I wanted you to come to my room is because I wanted to ask you something. Something that I haven't really had the chance to ask you yet." He took a deep breath and looked straight into her eyes. Sakura looked back as intensely as he did, her mouth slightly agape and her breathing, deeper. "Sakura."

"Yes?"

"Will you…" Sasuke paused. "Will you go out…"

"Sasuke! Sakura! Dinner's ready!" Mikoto's voice rang, loud and clear, on the other side of the closed door.

With the mood ruined, Sasuke and Sakura immediately got to their feet and looked away from each other.

To break the ice, Sakura spoke, "Um, shall we go?"

"Yeah."

Sasuke let Sakura exit the room first, then he walked out, closing the door behind him. Just as he and Sakura got out, they ran straight into Itachi, who was smirking.

"Wh-What are you smiling about?" Sasuke demanded.

"Oh, just at the fact that my little brother is becoming bolder and less egotistic," Itachi casually replied.

"I'm not picking a fight with you now, Itachi," growled Sasuke, attempting to control his temper. Sakura giggled as she watched from the sidelines.

"Little brother, you wouldn't beat me in a battle of wits even if you tried," Itachi taunted.

Sasuke's eyebrow twitched. "I'm still keeping my cool, Itachi, so I'm just gonna leave." He turned to the rosette, grabbed her wrist, and led her downstairs, leaving a very amused Itachi talking to himself.

* * *

"I'm really glad you could join us tonight, Sakura," Mikoto gleamed; her eyes sparkling like diamonds under the light of the chandelier.

"I'm glad to be here," Sakura replied, flashing Mikoto a warm smile.

"You've really changed Sasuke," Mikoto continued. "You're the first girl he's ever actually cared about! He used to be such a cruel person too."

"Oh, I can see that," Sakura said while laughing.

Mikoto and Sakura continued there conversation, both of them ignoring the awkward stares Sasuke was giving, the chuckle Itachi was emitting, and the stoic demeanor of the Uchiha head, Fugaku.

A while later, just as the chatter between the two girls died down, Sakura were about to dig in, until Fugaku spoke, "Girl, don't you know that no one can eat until the oldest male family member starts eating?"

Sakura froze, her hands holding the fork and knife just above the various plates filled with food. Gulping, she quickly retrieved her outstretched hands and laughed nervously. "Yes, um, of course!" the rosette fumbled. "I-I was just going to…serve the food to you, Uchiha-san!"

Sasuke eyed her closely and heaved a small sigh of relief when she managed to come up with a good excuse. "Please excuse her, father," Sasuke said, making his tone as formal as possible. "She's just happy to be here and meet you and mother."

Sakura nodded along. "Y-Yes! It's really nice to meet you and sit at the same dinner table with you, Uchiha-san! You know, you have very handsome and responsible sons!" Sasuke gave Sakura a small kick to her shins, signaling her to stop talking. Sakura smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of her head nervously.

Fugaku raised his right eyebrow, surprised that this girl could ramble so much. "And you have gotten both these sons of mine interested in you, have you not?"

The rosette gulped. _"How did he know that I used to date Itachi?"_

Her usually lively emerald eyes were now distraught as they darted to Sasuke's direction, then Itachi's, practically begging for help. Itachi, assuming the role of the more mature one, spoke up.

"Father, she is much more emotionally stable than other girls her age, and she never attempts to create an unnecessary scene."

_**"One big, fat, lie,**_" commented Inner Sakura. _**"You've gone out of control many times in the past!"**_

_"Shut up, he's saving my butt,"_ Sakura shushed her inner self.

"Not to mention she's one of the smartest and most hardworking people in her class," Itachi continued.

Once he finished, Sakura thanked him over and over just by looking at him with her admiring, green eyes. However, Fugaku's reaction wasn't how Sakura predicted.

"Sasuke." The head of the family turned his attention to his youngest son. "Come with me for a while."

Without hesitation, Sasuke obeyed. The father and son pushed their chairs back and stood up. Fugaku walked into a nearby room and Sasuke followed. A faint "close the door" could be heard by Sakura just after Sasuke entered the room.

"Um, is he in trouble?" Sakura asked, innocently.

"You don't need to worry too much," Itachi assured her. "My littler brother can stand up for himself now."

* * *

Fugaku flicked on the light switch, immediately illuminating the large study. Once he had seated himself on an armchair, he spoke, "Sasuke, are you trying to defy me?"

"No, father."

"Then why did you get involved with a commoner like her?"

"She's a perfectly good natured middle class girl, father," Sasuke retorted. "Money doesn't matter in everything."

"In the Uchiha family it does," Fugaku hissed. "Why can you not follow your older brother's example? I knew that he dated that girl. However, I did not say anything because I knew that he would make the right decision and break it off with her. With you, however, I cannot just overlook it."

"You already have Itachi to help you continue the family business. Why are you dragging me into this too?"

"Itachi will expand the business to Europe and he will handle things from there," Fugaku explained. "I plan to send you to another part of the world."

"I'm not leaving this school or country anytime soon," the young Uchiha growled. "And I'm not about to throw Sakura away just for the sake of business."

Fugaku sighed. "You children and your corrupt teenage minds," he muttered. "What do you know about business? You have no idea how many sleepless nights I had just because someone made a mistake, or because there was a glitch in the system."

"I'm still not going to get involved in all of that," Sasuke refused. "I'm going to live my own life."

"Look, Sasuke," Fugaku started. "There are already many families who are asking me whether my youngest son is single or not. I have already confirmed that you have no one. Now, they are offering their daughters to wed with you sometime after you finish high school."

"I'm not going to get married just after I finish high school," Sasuke growled. "I'm going to college, like a normal person, and then I'll choose who I get married to. Sorry, but you'll have to stick with Itachi for now."

Fugaku's face turned as red as a tomato, furious of his youngest son's refusal to follow his orders. A while after, he closed his eyes and sighed. "A Uchiha remains calm at all times and does what is right," he murmured. "Apparently you have forgotten all of that ever since you met that girl. Tell me, Sasuke. Are you dating her?"

Sasuke stiffened after hearing the question. "I really like her."

"I asked whether you were dating her or not."

The young Uchiha growled, apparently annoyed. "I…haven't asked her out… yet."

His answer immediately put a smirk on Fugaku's lips. "Meaning you are still available."

"I'm still not going to accept any other girls just because of a business proposition."

"You've certainly become rebellious," Fugaku commented. "You used to be much more obedient as a child."

"Well we all grow up and have our own opinions," argued Sasuke. "And nothing you say is going to make me change my mind."

Before Fugaku could reply, Sasuke forcefully pulled the door open and slammed it behind him. The loud bang startled the two females still sitting at the table. Sasuke quickly noticed that Itachi had gone off somewhere. Still fuming, he trotted over to Sakura, harshly took a hold of her wrist, and wrenched her up.

"S-Sasuke-kun, what are you…"

The furious Uchiha was already pulling Sakura along, leading her out of the house, somewhere else in the dark of the night.

* * *

"Sorry about that," apologized Sasuke, after letting go of Sakura's wrist and earning himself a slap on the face.

"That was really rude!" Sakura reprimanded. "Mikoto-san was right there."

The two of them were now at a park. The only forms of illumination available were the moonlight and the glaring light of the street lamps. Nearby, a pair of swings hung still, its chains squeaking only when the occasional breeze blew.

"I just needed a place to cool off," Sasuke said.

"And you dragged me because…"

"Because I wasn't done talking to you."

Sakura observed Sasuke carefully. His eyes looked weary and his breathing was deep. The rosette calmly walked to the swings and sat down on one of them. She gestured to the other swing, inviting Sasuke to sit with her. The Uchiha came to her alright. Except, he didn't sit.

Placing his hands lightly on Sakura's back, he gave her a small push. The swing, along with Sakura, propelled forward a little. Sasuke gave her a slightly stronger push once the swing fell back at him.

"So what happened back there?" Sakura started.

"Like I expected," answered Sasuke. "He doesn't approve of you." As his hands came into contact with Sakura's back once more, he felt her flinch. "Don't worry about what he thinks, Sakura. I'm never going to throw away someone I love just to make him happy."

Sakura stopped the swinging by digging her heels into the ground. Once the swing has returned to being a still, lifeless object, Sakura turned her head back to look at Sasuke. "Someone you love?" she whispered.

The dark haired Uchiha chuckled. "Yes, someone I love." He placed his hand on Sakura's light pink hair and gave it a light pat. "I thought I've already made that clear during the Hyuuga girl's party."

A bright shade of red creeped along Sakura's cheeks, but the rosette made no attempt to hide it. "Yes, I guess you did."

Sasuke then placed his hands on Sakura's shoulders. "Once I've decided something, I won't turn my back on it."

Sakura turned her head forward and let her own hands travel to her shoulders and land on Sasuke's knuckles. "I'm glad."

"Sakura."

Without turning her head back, Sakura answered, "Yes?"

"Will you go out with me?"

Her emerald orbs widened for a second, then her eyelids completely covered them as she closed her eyes and smiled. Her hands took a hold of Sasuke's fingertips. As she stood up, she raised her arms and turned her whole body to face him. Fresh tears, glistening under the combined light of the moon and a nearby streetlamp, decorated her eyes.

"I thought you'd never ask." Sakura nodded her head slowly. "Yes, I'd love to."

With both of them thinking the same thing, their bodies got closer, and so did their faces. Once more, their lips met, with their arms entangled around each other's bodies. Nothing but the faint chirping of crickets could be heard on that night.

* * *

**I'm updating faster than usual, yes? =) I have quite a lot of free time these days, so I felt like writing a lot. Also, I got a new idea for a fanfic! This time, I'm thinking of writing about one of the most under appreciated characters in Naruto: Tenten! =D It's going to be NejiTen, of course! **

**So far, this is what I imagine the summary to be: **

**A girl of Chinese descent finds herself in Heian-kyo, the capital of Heian Japan. Having lost all her memories except her name, Tenten decides to start a new life there, while living with a girl named Sakura. All was peaceful...until Tenten decides to pick a fight with member of the Hyuuga nobility. "What's wrong with you, you sexist bastard?…Wait, he Hyuuga's one of the clans that control this city?" **

**And, and, if any of you are interested in Japanese monsters, aka "yokai", please check out my new story, ****The Past Unraveled****. =3 **

**And of course, reviews make me happy! ^_^ Please review! **


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